BOOK REVIEW: Dictionary of Mathematics for Secondary Schools

The dictionary covers Junior and Senior Secondary School mathematics syllabus using a clear, attractive and simple design that is user friendly. It contains vivid illustrations and formulae for the reader.

Cover photo of the 'Dictionary of Mathematics for Secondary Schools'. PHOTO/Dr. Evelyn Njurai.

Author: Dr. Evelyn Njurai

Publisher: Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB)

Reviewer: Elijah Nyaanga Scholarman Senior

In learning mathematics, there is need for a single tool that students can use to refer the meaning of Mathematical terms and relate them to other terms as used in mathematics context. Such a tool can improve learning of mathematics.

The Dictionary of Mathematics for Secondary Schools is developed in conformity with the current secondary school syllabus requirements. It is useful for both teachers and learners.

The dictionary covers Junior and Senior Secondary School mathematics syllabus using a clear, attractive and simple design that is user friendly. It contains vivid illustrations and formulae for the reader.

It aims at easing the teaching and learning process as it is a thorough and comprehensive reference book for mathematics formulae, terminologies, definitions and practical examples that pertains to secondary school syllabus.

The author of this book, Dr. Evelyn Njurai observes that such a tool has not been available for students in secondary schools, what prompted her to come up with this masterpiece.

Dr. Njurai previously served as a secondary school teacher of mathematics for 15 years. It is through the experience of teaching mathematics at secondary school that she identified the need for having a dictionary for mathematics.

She argues that when students don’t understand the meaning of some mathematics terms, it is challenging for them to solve the mathematics problems presented to them.

Dr. Evelyn Njurai holding a copy of her book, Dictionary of Mathematics for Secondary Schools. PHOTO/Dr. Evelyn Njurai.

Developed in ten units that she identified in the secondary syllabus, the book serves as a guide for the students to conceptualise and understand mathematics subject.

The units are; Numbers, Measurements, Geometry, Algebra, Commercial Arithmetic, Trigonometry, Statistics and Probability, Matrices and Transformations, Vectors and Elementary Calculus.

The areas are integrated as there are topical areas that may be seen to belong to one area more than in the other and vice versa.

In this dictionary, meaning of single worlds like symmetry and rotation, and phrases such as rotational symmetry, axis of rotation and right pyramid have been presented.

Necessary illustrations are also presented to assist visual learning. Signs and symbols that are common in mathematics have been tabulated and described.

BRIEFS ABOUT PAST MATHEMATICIANS

Mathematical models like equations and inequalities are presented within the context, and brief information about renown past mathematicians like Pythagoras (570-495BC) from Greece, Rene Descartes (1596-1650BC) from France, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662BC) from France, Isaac Newton (1643-1727BC) from England and Leornhard Euler (1707-1783) from Switzerland have been presented.
Pythagoras (570-495BC)
Pythagoras, born at Samos in Greece was a well-known mathematician, scientist and a religious teacher. His father was Mnesarchus, a merchant and his mother Pythais, was a native of Samos. Young Pythagoras spent most of his early years in Samos but travelled to many places with his father. He was intelligent and was also fond of poetry.
In 535 BC, Pythagoras left Samos for Egypt, where he pursued his education and specialized in Geometry and Mathematics. Later Pythagoras returned to Samos and established a school named the ‘Semicircle’. On his travel to Croton, he founded a religious school and had several followers, Pythagoreans, who adopted his philosophical principles. He had inner circle of followers known as the ‘Mathematikoi’.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
René Descartes was a French mathematician and philosopher.  Born in La Haye, in March of 1596, Descartes started schooling at the age of 8 years studying mathematics, music, astronomy, metaphysics, natural philosophy and ethics. Later, he earned a law degree from the University of Poitiers. Shortly after his graduation, Descartes had three very powerful visions that he attributed for establishing the path of his life-long studies; one of which was on the development of a Coordinate Plane, later named Cartesian Plane after him.
It is said that one day when Descartes was in bed, he noticed a fly crawling around on the ceiling. He tried to think of ways to describe where the fly was located; realized that he could do so by describing the fly’s position by its distance from each wall relative to a specific point. He imagined the ceiling as a rectangle drawn on a piece of paper: taking the left bottom corner as the reference point, he specified the location of the fly by taking the distance along the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The two values gave the fly's coordinates. He noted that every pair of coordinates specifies a unique point on the ceiling and every point on the ceiling comes with a unique pair of coordinates. Get a copy of the book to learn more about the other mathematicians, and the book in general.

The content is developed and presented per unit with no attempts to list the terms in the alphabetical order, nouns, verbs, adjectives or the different pronunciations.

While the users of this dictionary are assumed to have a grasp of ordinary English language, some words and terms are not necessarily from English origin, but from other languages like Latin and Greek in which mathematics has developed over time.

While the dictionary is written for students in secondary schools, it is also helpful for students seeking basic knowledge of mathematics vocabulary with the intention of taking mathematics courses at the tertiary level of education.

This is a must-read book and therefore Scholar Media Africa recommends it for mathematics teachers and students. It is available at Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) stores and bookshops. You may also email the author through; evelynkirigo@gmail.com for a copy of the book.

Dr. Evelyn Njurai. PHOTO/Courtesy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Evelyn Njurai is currently a lecturer of Curriculum Studies and Mathematics Education courses at Kisii University. She holds a B.Ed Science (Hons) Degree, Msc (Pure Maths) and a PhD in Mathematics Education. She is a co-editor of, and co-author in, Competence Based Curriculum: A Handbook for Teachers Education. Her research interests include Mathematics Education, use of technology for mathematics instruction, STEM and emerging issues in and for education.

Signs and symbols commonly used in Mathematics.

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Mr. Nyaanga, famously known as Amb. Scholarman Snr is a seasoned multi-award-winning journalist with vast knowledge in print and online journalism. He is the Lead Editor at the Scholar Media Group Africa (SMEGA), the company that publishes The Scholar Africa Magazine and runs https://scholarmedia.africa.

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