ALGEBRA FOR BEGINNERS 61.Tto Combudge WITH NUMEROUS EXAMPLES BY I. TODHUNTER, M.A., F.R.S. NEW EDITION. London: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1872. [All Rights reserved.] PREFACE. THE present work has been undertaken at the request of many teachers, in order to be placed in the hands of beginners, and to serve as an introduction to the larger treatise published by the author; it is accordingly based on the earlier chapters of that treatise, but is of a more elementary character. Great pains have been taken to render the work intelligible to young students, by the use of simple language and by copious explanations. In determining the subjects to be included and the space to be assigned to each, the author has been guided by the papers given at the various examinations in elcmentary Algebra which are now carried on in this country. The book may be said to consist of three parts. The first part contains the elementary operations in integral and fractional expressions; it occupies eighteen chapters. The second part contains the solution of equations and problems; it occupies twelve chapters. The subjects contained in these two parts constitute nearly the whole of every examination paper which was consulted, and accordingly they are treated with ample detail of illustration and exercise. The third part forms the remainder of the book; it consists of various subjects which are introduced but rarely into the examination papers, and which are therefore more briefly discussed. The subjects are arranged in what appears to be the most natural order. But many teachers find it advantageous to introduce easy equations and problems at a very early stage, and accordingly provision has been made for |