Math For Real Life For Dummies

Not everyone retains the math they learned in school. Like any skill, your ability to speak "math" can deteriorate if left unused. From adding and subtracting money in a bank account to figuring out the number of shingles to put on a roof, math in all of its forms factors into daily life. Math For Real Life For Dummies provides you with the simple formulas and theorems that you're likely to encounter in the workplace, the kitchen, and even when playing games.

You can turn to Math For Real Life For Dummies to brush up on your math skills or to handle everyday encounters, like calculating restaurant tips, understanding interest rates, and figuring out percentages and odds. Packed with real-world examples that make sense, Math For Real Life For Dummies takes the stress out of your daily calculation encounters.

• Provides tips for understanding and using basic mathematical concepts
• Shows you how math helps the mind to reason and organize complicated situations or problems into clear, simple, and logical steps
• Covers all of the math skills you're likely to need in everyday situations

If you're looking for a practical, plain-English guide to mastering everyday math skills, Math For Real Life For Dummies has you covered.

Introduction 1

Part I: Boning Up on Math Basics 7

Chapter 1: Awesome Operations: Math Fundamentals 9

Chapter 2: High School Reunion: Revisiting Key Principles of Algebra and Geometry 27

Chapter 3: Becoming a Believer: Conversion, Statistics, Probability and More 47

Chapter 4: The Miracle of Mental Math 59

Part II: Math for Everyday Activities 71

Chapter 5: Let’s Make a Deal! Math You Use When Shopping 73

Chapter 6: Mmm, Mmm, Good: Kitchen Calculations 97

Chapter 7: It Does a Body Good: Math for Health and Well-Being 109

Chapter 8: Putting Geometry to Work at Home 129

Chapter 9: Math and Statistics around Town and on the Road 141

Part III: Math to Manage Your Personal Finances 161

Chapter 10: Budgets, Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, and More 163

Chapter 11: Key Principles of Investment Math 183

Chapter 12: Covering Your Assets: Insurance Math 203

Chapter 13: Taking Math to Work 215

Chapter 14: How Taxing! (Almost) Understanding the Government 229

Part IV: The Part of Tens 241

Chapter 15: Ten Quick Calculations You Can Do in Your Head 243

Chapter 16: Ten Activities That Build Math Skills 249

Index 255

Barry Schoenborn, a longtime math, science, and technical writer, is the coauthor of Technical Math For Dummies, Medical Dosage Calculations For Dummies, and Physician Assistant Exam For Dummies.

Learn to:

• Get the skills you need to tackle everyday math problems
• Know which math to use when shopping, driving, and investing
• Brush up on basic math skills and concepts

Brush up on the math skills you need in your everyday life

Need to sharpen your math skills to handle everyday encounters, like calculating restaurant tips, understanding interest rates, and figuring out percentages and odds? Packed with real-world examples, Math For Real Life For Dummies gives you plain-English explanations of the simple math formulas and operations you're likely to encounter in the workplace, the kitchen, and even when playing games.

• Brush up on the basics — get basic math from counting and simple arithmetic to broader concepts like statistics
• Math to the rescue — discover how to do the calculations that spring up while shopping, cooking, dining out, trying to lose weight, and more
• Manage money with math — get a handle on the general principles, specialized terms, and strategies to create a budget, better manage your bank account and check register, avoid credit card debt, and invest more wisely
• Room for improvement —see calculations you can do in your head and games you can play to build your math skills and sharpen your critical thinking

Open the book and find:

• Math tricks that help you perform quick calculations in your head
• Ways to apply math formulas and principles to craft, home improvement, and yard projects
• How to make conversions, understand statistics, calculate odds, use percentages, and more
• Math solutions for day-to-day activities such as cooking, dining out, shopping, and banking
• Ten games that build math skills