Introduction

      One-thousand-one algebra problems: You must wonder what inspired such an endeavor.

      One possibility for the inspiration is 1,001 Arabian Nights. (Okay, I’m really stretching here, but why not?) 1,001 Arabian Nights is a collection of stories and folk tales, compiled over several centuries. Likewise, 1,001 Algebra II Practice Problems For Dummies is a collection of math problems and explanations, and some of them involve interesting stories. This book wasn’t compiled over centuries (though my editors say it seemed to take that long), but the concepts and ideas involved took mathematicians centuries to develop.

      Practice makes perfect. Unlike other subjects in which you can just read or listen and absorb the information sufficiently, mathematics takes practice. The only way to figure out how the different algebraic rules work and interact with one another is to get into the problems — get your hands dirty, so to speak. Many problems appear to be the same, on the surface, but different aspects and challenges have been inserted to make the different problems unique. The concepts become more set in your mind when you work with the problems and have the properties confirmed with your solutions.

      Yes, whether it’s 1,001 algebra problems or 1,001 mathematical adventures, you’ll find them here. Enjoy!

What You’ll Find

      This book contains 1,001 algebra problems, their answers, and complete solutions to each. There are 17 problem chapters, and each chapter has many different sets of questions. The sets of questions are sometimes in a logical, sequential order, going from one part of a topic to the next and then to the next. Other times the sets of questions represent the different ways a topic can be presented. In any case, you’re given brief instructions on doing the problems. And sometimes you’re given a particular formula or format to use. Feel free to refer to other algebra books, such as Algebra II For Dummies, to give you ideas on how to solve some of the problems.

      Instead of just having answers to the problems, you find a worked-out solution for each and every one. Flip to the last chapter of the book for the step-by-step processes needed to solve the problems. The solutions include verbal explanations inserted in the work where necessary. Sometimes an alternate procedure may be offered. Not everyone does algebra exactly the same way, but this book tries to provide the most understandable and success-promoting process to use when solving the algebra problems presented.