EDWARD E. HOLTON HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF MACHINE SHOP PRACTICE, PREFACE THE demand for a practical arithmetic for the student in the vocational school and for the man in the shop has long been felt, and it is for such that this book is intended. There have been published many excellent books on elementary mathematics, but a need exists for a vocational arithmetic that presents the matter clearly and at the same time awakens interest in the student. This volume is the result of years of vocational teaching, supplemented by extensive shop and engineering practice on the part of the authors, and it is believed that the book will find favor among those who recognize the need for such a work. The usual branches of arithmetic are treated in a simple way, and the large number of practical problems gives opportunity for much exercise and option. The problems have been carefully selected and will be found interesting and useful to persons of varied interests, and to this end are presented applications to several vocations, as shop work, carpentry, foundry work, masonry, and excavation. It has been the first purpose of the authors to express themselves in language so simple and clear, yet without sacrificing exactness, that the ideas may be readily grasped by those for whom this work is intended. The authors will be grateful for any suggestions or corrections of error that may have found their way into this book. |