Excerpt from Elementary Algebra IN writing this book one of the chief aims of the author has been to make the transition from arithmetic to algebra as easy and natural as possible, and at the same time to arouse and sustain the student's interest in the new field of work. Accordingly the first few pages are devoted to a restatement and slight extension of the meaning of the ordinary arithmetical Operations. Then the literal notation is introduced, and the innovation immediately justified by showing that, among other advantages, it enables the student to solve with ease a class of problems which, by unaided arithmetical analysis, had previously been very difficult for him. In Chapter II negative numbers are introduced but only after it has been shown, by concrete examples, that these numbers are essential to man's needs, and that they arise naturally from positive numbers. Moreover, to make this extension Of the number system seem less startling, it is pointed out that an altogether similar extension has already been made in arithmetic by the introduction of fractions. And so on throughout the book, wherever an essentially new step is to be taken, its naturalness and advantages are presented with it, and it is thereafter freely employed until it becomes a useful tool in the student's hands. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.