help desk: Dolciani Algebra 2

I don't follow Dolciani's statement at the top.

At all.


update 5.29.2009



This equation doesn't follow from Dolciani's equation; I wrote it to see whether I would understand Dolciani's statement once I solved it.

Of course, I don't know whether I solved it. It seems to me I've got a problem with cases in which the exponent is an even number - ?

foiled again

I was cruising through the word problems at the end of Section 5-8: Problem Solving Using Fractional Equations in Mary Dolciani's Algebra and Trigonometry Structure and Method Book 2, congratulating myself on the fact that not only can I now do what I consider to be reasonably difficult word problems, I enjoy doing them.

Then I hit this one:

19. A commercial jet can fly from San Francisco to Dallas in 3 h. A private jet can make the same trip in 3 1/2 h. If the two planes leave San Francisco at noon, after how many hours is the private jet twice as far from Dallas as the commercial jet? (page 246)

I couldn't do it, and I didn't enjoy not being able to do it.

I'm not even going to look at #20.

Until tomorrow.

the kids are rioting again

I love Amazon.

Reviews for Glencoe Algebra, the new textbook selected by my own district:


from Sarah, one star:
My name is Sarah and I attend Ridgeway High School located in Memphis, Tn. I am in the 11th garde. I'm taking Alebra II right now, but I remember dealing with that book. It is not a good book. They have pages put in the wrong places. They will tell you to do a problem and you wouldn't know a thing about it, then at the end of the chapter, it will show you everythign about it. I encourage you not to buy this book. I would not waiste my money!!!


from high school math teacher, another one star:
I must agree with the other reviews: this book stinks. It is not organized in a logical order. For instance, in section 1-1 students are expected to translate verbal expressions into algebraic ones. To do this, a student needs to understand order of operations, which isn't introduced until a later chapter. If you are a teacher picking an Algebra 1 book for your students, don't pick this book.


from a reader, one star:
All I have to say is that this "book" was definatly not intended for human use, nor was it written by humans who actually understand the human mind.


from Karim Pluma, one star:
I'm a student from Ridgeway Middle School in Memphis who is curretly taking Algebra 1. All I have to say about the book is that it is INFESTED with those annoying integration chapters that are: poorly made, come in the middle of the other chapters in a very unexpected time. Also, the book is poorly organized and, the worst part, it has some of the most ridiculus problems that NO ONE will figure out on their own. If it wasn't because my Algebra 1 teacher is a wonderful one, my generation would be lost.


from another reader, 2 stars:
This book presents too much material in an unorganized fashion. The sections concentrate on so much extra stuff that the math is difficult to follow. It is unclear what is important and what is not with all the vocabulary and activities and practice problems. I haven't seen later editions but it definitely needs to be cleaned up. It does have lots of real world examples and activities but this is algebra 1 and kids need to learn the basics first. One has to pick and choose what to do with it and that's not what I want.


one star:
....I don't know if what i am saying is making sense but DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK unless you enjoy books with no detailed examples, advanced explanations of concepts you have probably never learned, and boring real world connections. After using this book at my school i checked out a few other books and have found that i really enjoy Algebra when i can actually understand it and apply my skills. I think the book is a major deciding point in a students grades. I think more schools should focus on down to earth, but still informative books and maybe then they would see more effort applied to difficult concepts.


a reader, one star
When I write this review, I am really referring to both volumes of the Algebra 1 series. I am a college engineering student and just completed my fourth calculus course. For the past year I have tried to help my younger brother in his Algebra class because this book didn't help at all. Examples are insufficient and the book and tests are riddled with errors. The teacher had to work out all the problems because there were so many mistakes that he could not trust his answer key....Also students are told to tell the difference between rational and irrational roots by looking at their calculator display. Perhaps if you only use this book as a source for problems, it might be OK. But it is nearly impossible to try and learn something from this book which seems to be fixated on providing pretty graphics instead of relevant examples. My advice: Buy some other Algebra book. It is not possible to put too much effort into the search for a good algebra book because algebra is really the language of science and engineering that needs to become second nature. I haven't seen them myself, but I have heard good things about Algebra 1 by Paul A. Foerster as well as Algebra: Structure and Method by Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, et. al. You might want to take a look at these books.


Hey!

That's what I hear, too!

Foerster; Dolciani....those are the algebra greats.

Too bad my kid doesn't get to use one of them in his high-performing school.

And too bad I just blew forty bucks purchasing the wrong Teacher Wraparound Edition. (damn!)

For the record, the wrong Teacher Wraparound Edition is:

Glencoe Algebra 1: Integration, Applications, Connections
Teacher’s Wraparound Edition
ISBN: 0-02-825326-4 Student Edition
ISBN: 0-02-825328-0 Teacher’s Wraparound Edition


info on the Dolciani & Foerster books:

Algebra Structure and Method: Book 1
Richard G. Brown, Mary P. Dolciani, Robert H. Sorgenfrey, William L. Cole 1994
ISBN: 0-395-67608-8
0395676088
Solution Key:
ISBN: 0-395-67764-5
0395677645

Algebra 1 Expressions, Equations, and Applications
Paul A. Foerster
Teacher’s Edition
ISBN 0-201-86095-3
Also see: http://wtmboards.com/HSboardApr172007/messages/555.html
TE - 0201860953
solution manual - 0201861003


ISBN lollapalooza
good money after bad

Saxon vs. Dolciani

This is interesting:

Dolciani vs. Saxon: A Comparison of Two Algebra I Textbooks With High School Students.
McBee, Maridyth
Oklahoma City Public Schools, OK. Dept. of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.

This study examined achievement differences between algebra students taught with the non-traditional textbook developed by Saxon and those taught with a "traditional" textbook by Dolciani. Student absences, rate of turning in homework, and ability level were considered, as well as teachers' comments. One Algebra I section in each of seven schools used the Saxon text, while a second section in each school used the Dolciani text, with the same teacher teaching both sections. In an eighth school, the texts were used with two sections of Elementary Algebra students. (However, data from these two classes and from one of the seven Algebra I teachers were not used in the analysis.) An analysis-of-covariance design accounted for students' initial achievement level differences prior to entering Algebra I. The Spring, 1981, California Achievement Test total math score was used as a covariate. The locally-constructed Algebra I Comprehensive Exam assessed course achievement. The mean score of the 98 students using the Saxon text was significantly higher than the mean score of the 67 students using the Dolciani text. The Saxon classes had slightly more absences and turned in homework slightly less frequently than the Dolciani classes. Most teachers preferred the Saxon text. An addendum discusses inter-test correlation and data from the California Achievement Test. (MNS)

I have both books. Dolciani looks fantastic, but I use Saxon for myself entirely because the book is built on the principle of distributed practice.

Saxon isn't a "traditional" math book.

It is a cog-sci math book. Something new under the sun.