Textbook in PDF format

Formulas! They seem to be the bane of every beginning mathematics student who has yet to realize that formulas are about structure and relationship—and not about memorization. Granted, formulas have to be memorized; for, it is partly through memorization that we eventually become ‘unconsciously competent’: a true master of our skill, practicing it in an almost effortless, automatic sense. In mathematics, being ‘unconsciously competent’ means we have mastered the underlying algebraic language to the same degree that we have mastered our native tongue. Knowing formulas and understanding the reasoning behind them propels one towards the road to mathematical fluency, so essential in our modern high-tech society. The Handbook of Essential Mathematics contains three major sections. Section I, “Formulas”, contains most of the mathematical formulas that a person would expect to encounter through the second year of college regardless of major. In addition, there are formulas rarely seen in such compilations, included as a mathematical treat for the inquisitive. Section I also includes select mathematical processes, such as the process for solving a linear equation in one unknown, with a supporting examples. Section II, “Tables”, includes both ‘pure math’ tables and physical-science tables, useful in a variety of disciples ranging from physics to nursing. As in Section I, some tables are included just to nurture curiosity in a spirit of fun. In Sections I and II, each formula and table is enumerated for easy referral. Section III, “Applications in Personal Finance”, is a small textbook within a book where the language of algebra is applied to that everyday financial world affecting all of us throughout our lives from birth to death. Note: The idea of combining mathematics formulas with financial applications is not original in that my father had a similar type book as a Purdue engineering student in the early 1930s