Review: Cool Math

Review:

Cool Math: 50 Fantastic Facts for Kids of All Ages

Publisher: Pavilion Children’s Books, 2013

Having worked in and with the math department for several years, I have the advantage of having seen some of these cool facts and tricks. Not all, mind you, but some – and I totally agree: they are cool.

Looking for some quick multiplication tips? Check out pages 10 and 11.

Maybe you’re a parent trying to help with math, but not familiar with some of the techniques. For example, pages 12 and 13 explain the FOIL method of multiplying a binomial.

One tip I particularly liked was the Trigonometry Tree. This one was new to me and frankly I think has a lot of useful, practical application. Plenty of the other tips were also useful. You can learn how to speedily convert a recipe, calculate sale prices or tips, or figure out on what day of the week a future date will fall, even learn how to take a better photograph.

Then there are some fun number tricks. These might not have as obvious practical uses (though they are pretty cool ways to amaze your friends!), but I believe that playing around with numbers is one of the things that makes you better at math. At least, it makes math seem less intimidating!

So if you really want to stop letting numbers scare you, this book is a great one to guide you on your way.

 

*NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.