FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS BY WEBSTER WELLS, S.B. PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS PREFACE. THE cordial reception which the author's other Algebras have received at the hands of the educational public, their extensive use in schools of the highest rank in all parts of the country, the appreciative recommendations which have come to him from instructors of reputation, lead him to believe that this latest attempt to adequately meet the demands of the best secondary schools will be cordially welcomed. Our teachers are progressive, and the author who fails to keep abreast of the times, and in sympathy with the best. educational thought and methods, will appeal in vain for the patronage and sympathies of his fellow-teachers. Fully conscious of the above truth, the author earnestly recommends "The Essentials of Algebra " to the attention of the educational public. It affords a thorough and complete treatment of elementary Algebra, and attention is especially invited to the following features: The introduction of easy problems at the very outset; § 5. The Addition and Multiplication of Positive and Negative Numbers; §§ 14 to 19. The Addition of Similar Terms; § 31. The discussion of Simple Equations, not involving Fractions, directly after Division; Chap. VII. The suggestions in regard to the solution of problems; §§ 76, 77. The discussion of the theoretical principles involved in the handling of fractions; §§ 129, 136, 143, 145. iii The examples on page 176. The discussion of square roots and cube roots of arithmetical numbers; §§ 197, 198, 203, 204. The examples at the end of § 229. The solution of equations by factoring; §§ 266, 267. The factoring of a quadratic expression when the coefficient of x2 is a perfect square; § 286. Great care has been taken to state the various definitions and rules with accuracy, and every principle has been demonstrated with strict regard to the logical principles involved. As a rule, no definition has been introduced until its use became necessary. The examples and problems have been selected with great care, are ample in number, and thoroughly graded. They are especially numerous in the important chapters on Factoring, Fractions, and Radicals. The latest English practice has been followed in writing Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic, for Arithmetical, Geometrical, and Harmonical, in the progressions. The author wishes to acknowledge, with hearty thanks, the many suggestions and the assistance that he has received from principals and teachers of secondary schools in all parts of the country, in improving and perfecting the work. WEBSTER WELLS. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, March, 1897. |