Includes index.

Introduction -- About this book -- What not to Read -- Foolish assumptions -- How this book is organized -- Where to go from here -- Part I: Starting off with the basics -- Chapter 1: Assembling your Tools -- Chapter 2: Assigning signs: Positive and negative numbers -- Chapter 3: Figuring out fractions and dealing with decimals -- Chapter 4: Exploring exponents and raising radicals -- Chapter 5: Doing operations in order and checking your answers -- Chapter 6: Prepping for operations -- Part II: Figuring out factoring -- Chapter 7: Working with numbers in their prime -- Chapter 8: Sharing the fun: Distributing -- Chapter 9: Factoring in the first degree -- Chapter 10: Getting the second degree -- Chapter 11: Factoring special cases -- Part III: Working equations -- Chapter 12: Lining up for linear equations -- Chapter 13: Solving linear equations -- Chapter 14: Taking a crack at quadratic equations -- Chapter 15: Distinguishing equations with distinctive powers -- Chapter 16: Fixing inequalities -- Part IV: Applying algebra -- Chapter 17: Making formulas behave -- Chapter 18: Sorting out story problems -- Chapter 19: Going visual: Graphing -- Part V: Part of tens -- Chapter 20: Ten most common errors -- Chapter 21: Ten ways to factor a polynomial -- Chapter 22: Ten divisibility rules -- Chapter 23: Ten tips for dealing with story problems -- Glossary - Index.

Algebra touches everyone's lives, from calculating mortgage interest to going dutch at a restaurant -- not to mention the millions of high school students taking algebra classes. This friendly guide covers everything from fractions to quadratic equations. It includes real- world examples and story problems that will help even the most entrenched algebra phobes appproach the subject with ease.