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any of the questions you ask in everyday life, such as “How many MP3 downloads can I buy with
a certain amount of money?” or “What percentage reduction in price would lower the cost of a
particular shirt to $20?” are solved using algebra. Although you might not have realized it, you’ve
been doing algebra for quite some time, believe it or not!
The set of rules and techniques that has come to be known as algebrarevolves around finding values of some
unknown quantity that, when used, make a given mathematical statement true. Such a value might be the length
of the side of a fence, the number of minutes a jogger needs to run in order to catch the nearest opponent, or the
original cost of an item. Mastery of the rules and techniques embodied in the problem sets in this book will arm
you with the tools necessary to attach applied problems accurately and with ease.How to Use This Book
This book has been designed to provide you with a collection of problems to assist you in reviewing the basic
techniques of algebra. It has been written with several audiences in mind. Anyone who has taken an algebra course
and needs to refresh skills that have become a bit rusty—this book is for you. Instructors teaching an algebra course
might find this repository of problems to be a useful supplement to their own problem sets. Teachers and tutors
might use the problems in this book in help sessions. Or, if you are a student taking algebra for the first time, this
book will provide you with some extra practice. Whatever your background or reason for picking up this book,
we hope that you will find it to be a useful resource in your journey through algebra!INTRODUCTION