Mark Ryan

Mark Ryan has more than three decades’ experience as a calculus teacher and tutor. He has a gift for mathematics and a gift for explaining it in plain English. He tutors students in all junior high and high school math courses as well as math test prep, and he’s the founder of The Math Center on Chicago’s North Shore. Ryan is the author of Calculus For Dummies, Calculus Essentials For Dummies, Geometry For Dummies, and several other math books.

Articles & Books From Mark Ryan

Geometry Workbook For Dummies
Don't be a square! Strengthen your geometrical skills Lots of students need extra practice to master geometry. Thankfully, there's Geometry Workbook For Dummies. Packed with hundreds of practice problems and easy-to-understand concept explanations, this book takes a hands-on approach to showing you the geometric ropes.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 07-26-2024
Use this cheat sheet as a reference for the most important formulas, rules, equations, and so on that you need for calculus. The main calculus topics are covered (limits, differentiation, integration, and infinite series), as are the critical pre-calculus topics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry).Some Essential AlgebraAlgebra is the language of calculus.
Calculus All-in-One For Dummies (+ Chapter Quizzes Online)
Make calculus more manageable with simplified instruction and tons of practice Calculus All-in-One For Dummies pairs no-nonsense explanations of calculus content with practical examples and practice problems, so you can untangle the difficult concepts and improve your score in any calculus class. Plus, this book comes with access to chapter quizzes online.
Article / Updated 10-26-2022
The volume of an object is how much space the object takes up — or, if you were to drop the object into a full tub of water, how much water would overflow.To calculate the volume of a cylinder, you need to know its height and the area of its base. Because a cylinder is a flat-top figure (a solid with two congruent, parallel bases), the base can be either the top or bottom.
Article / Updated 09-16-2022
Using geometry symbols will save time and space when writing proofs, properties, and figuring formulas. The most commonly used geometry symbols and their meanings are shown below.
Article / Updated 07-29-2022
Triangles are classified according to the length of their sides or the measure of their angles. These classifications come in threes, just like the sides and angles themselves.The following are triangle classifications based on sides: Scalene triangle: A triangle with no congruent sides Isosceles triangle: A triangle with at least two congruent sides Equilateral triangle: A triangle with three congruent sides (For the three types of triangles based on the measure of their angles, see the article, “Identifying Triangles by Their Angles.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-10-2022
To effectively work through calculus problems, you have to understand a number of topics: the process of evaluating limits, methods of solving various differentiation and integration problems, and the tests for convergence or divergence of infinite series.Evaluating limits in calculusThe mathematics of limits underlies all of calculus.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-08-2022
Successfully understanding and studying geometry involves using strategies for your geometry proofs, knowing important equations, and being able to identify commonly used geometry symbols.Geometry formulas, theorems, properties, and moreWhat follows are over three dozen of the most important geometry formulas, theorems, properties, and so on that you use for calculations.
Article / Updated 12-21-2021
On a map, you trace your route and come to a fork in the road. Two diverging roads split from a common point and form an angle. The point at which the roads diverge is the vertex. An angle separates the area around it, known in geometry as a plane, into two regions. The points inside the angle lie in the interior region of the angle, and the points outside the angle lie in the exterior region of the angle.
Article / Updated 09-17-2021
A circle's central angles and the arcs that they cut out are part of many circle proofs. They also come up in many area problems. The following figure shows how an angle and an arc are interrelated. A 60-degree central angle cuts out a 60-degree arc. Arc: An arc is simply a curved piece of a circle. Any two points on a circle divide the circle into two arcs: a minor arc (the smaller piece) and a major arc (the larger)—unless the points are the endpoints of a diameter, in which case both arcs are semicircles.