Maths? Don't Panic! is a friendly guide to mathematics for students aged 11 to 14 (in school years 7 to 9). It will also help parents who want to help them, but are not quite sure how to do it. It is not a formal textbook. Each chapter covers a single topic and provides explanations, tips, memory aids, worked examples and exercises. Volume 1, covered basic arithmetic, with whole numbers and decimals. It included the use of fractions, percentages, indices, squares and cubes, series and many other topics. This volume, volume 2, covers Algebra and Geometry. It starts with the basic idea of simplifying calculations by substituting letters for numbers. It explains linear, quadratic and more complex equations. It shows you how to use graphs to solve problems. Geometry is a practical subject, used extensively by graphic designers, surveyors architects and builders. This book shows you how to use rulers, compasses and protractors to draw lines and angles, and to measure accurately. Mathematics doesn't have to be 'learned'. Once you understand the basic rules you will know how to use them to find the answers to the questions. When you have understood a topic you will find that there is very little which needs to be memorized. It is just common sense. You don't need to work through the whole book. You can look-up any topic and find a straight forward explanation of the things which puzzle you. Exercises, with answers are set at the end of each chapter. A final chapter gives advice on how to pass examinations. Alison Joiner has devoted many years to teaching individual students. In this book she makes use of the explanations she has found most helpful. She often gets the response "Is that what it's all about." "I didn't know it was so easy". She aims to explain each topic in a way which makes it simple, so that her students feel confident that they really understand the subject A further part, which is under preparation, will cover Statistics, and Ratio and Proportion, so completing the Department of Education requirements the UK Key Stage 3 Examination syllabus, based on the Curriculum for 2014 onwards.
The Author With twenty years of teaching experience, Alison Joiner provides individual lessons for pupils of all ages, from remedial reading to undergraduate physics. She has used this wealth of experience to write books on "how to do maths", using the methods and explanations which make sense to her pupils. She has been Head of Physics at a girl's public school, and Head of science at a comprehensive school. She has taught day release apprentices, and undergraduate physics. She has taught at a college of technology and in a sixth form college. In industry she carried out research on semi-conductors, radar and underwater acoustics. She was at one time Head of Mathematical Modelling for an international defense company. She has a BSc, an MSc, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She is a Member of the Institute of Physics, A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a Fellow of the Institute of Analysts and Programmers. "My pupils appreciate that I am always careful to explain the logical connections between mathematical and scientific topics. The tips and memory aids I use in this book have helped lots of other people. Many of my ex-pupils have gained good University Places some at Oxford and Cambridge"
