The Facts On File Geometry Handbook (Facts on File Science Library) - Softcover

Gorini, Catherine A.

9780816062300: The Facts On File Geometry Handbook (Facts on File Science Library)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816062307 ISBN 13: 9780816062300

Publisher: Checkmark Books, 2005

Provides a glossary of terms; brief profiles of significant contributors to the field; and a chronology of significant advancements; as well as tables of formulas and theorems, numbers, symbols, and constructions.

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About the Author:

Catherine A. Gorini, Ph.D., received her A.B. in mathematics from Cornell University, M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Virginia, and D.W.P. from Maharishi European University. She is Dean of Faculty and Professor of Mathematics at Maharishi University of Management. She is the editor of Geometry at Work and author of Facts On File Geometry Handbook. Her numerous awards for teaching include the Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America.

From Booklist:

With these titles, Facts On File continues its Science and Math Handbooks series designed to give both beginning and advanced students "quick, direct answers to basic science and math questions." Each consists of four major sections: glossary; biographies; chronology; and charts and tables. There are also appendixes in each, as well as good black-and-white illustrations and photographs. Geometry covers Euclidian and non-Euclidian geometries including projective geometry, affine geometry, vector spaces, knot theory, and topology. Marine Science covers everything having to do with the sea, including navigation, exploration, weather, geology, and creatures.

The glossaries are extensive although not exhaustive. The definitions are clear and easy to understand. The brief biographies are balanced in terms of gender, ethnicity, and specialization. Some have portraits. Charts and tables are well chosen, offering a wide variety of information. Especially helpful are the prefix and suffix charts in Marine Science and the constants, abbreviations, and symbols in Geometry. The recommended reading list in Geometry is more extensive than that in Marine Science and includes Internet sites, multimedia, and teaching resources as well as books at both the introductory and advanced level. The indexes are just adequate and in extremely small print, but the cross-references in the body help make up for that. In every section there are guide words at the top and bottom of each page that include first and last terms on that page.

Some definitions in Geometry Handbook are either too simplistic, too difficult, or confusing. The term amplitude is not defined. The reader is referred to two other terms, but neither definition uses the word amplitude or explains the referral to the term. There are some errors, including phrase duplications at page breaks. Pronunciation guides would have been a good addition.

Both of these handbooks will be useful to teachers. Students will find the Marine Science handbook more accessible than Geometry. Recommended for academic, public, and some high-school libraries. RBB
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