ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For decades, Harold ('Hal') Schneider has been using his unique ability to make
mathematics easier to understand for all levels of students.
At his high school graduation, he was awarded the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
medal given to the graduating student with the highest grades in all math and sciences
during his entire high school career (including state-wide exams).
Having earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from City College of New York,
his long career include diverse areas such as Rocket Science, Reliability Engineering and
as a Systems Analyst, developing major business, computer-based systems in the
financial and quality control areas, and finally, as an expert math tutor.
Formulating and solving practical word problems is a core element of the Science and
Engineering professions. This book is a result of the use of many disciplines and
techniques used by these professions in the practical use of math. He expanded on
one such technique called 'Dimensional Analysis' to become the basis of the
unique and powerful 'Word/Fraction' technique... the cornerstone of the innovative
problem solving method outlined in the book.
Hal's inspiration to write this book was his first-hand observation that nearly all of his
students, regardless of their level of proficiency in math, had major difficulties in
understanding how to setup the problem. This was true independent of the level of
difficulty of the subsequent math operations involved. Also, over many decades
of improvements in math education, there has been little improvement in this
critical area: the most important usage of math in real life.
Although word problems are in all math textbooks used in schools, Hal realized that
they only provide excellent examples on how to solve an applicable equation ...
but insufficient explanation and/or technique on how to develop the equation in the
first place (i.e. convert the words of a problem into an equation). Hence, the need for
his type of book to close that gap became evident.
Actually, not being a 'formal' mathematician has proved to be an advantage in writing
this book. Hal's engineering background, combined with his extensive tutoring expertise,
give him the ability to explain techniques in words that the reader can easily understand.