Math Mammoth Grade 8-A Worktext is the first student book for eighth grade mathematics, and part of the Math Mammoth Grade 8 complete curriculum. This book starts with a study of exponent laws, using both numerical and algebraic expressions. The first chapter also covers scientific notation (both with large and small numbers), significant digits, and calculations with numbers given in scientific notations. In chapter 2, students learn about geometric transformations (translations, reflections, rotations, dilations), common angle relationships, and volume of prisms, cylinders, spheres, and cones. Next, in chapter 3, our focus is on linear equations. Students both review and learn more about solving linear equations, including equations whose solutions require the usage of the distributive property and equations where the variable is on both sides. Chapter 4 presents an introduction to functions. Students construct functions to model linear relationships, learn to use the rate of change and initial value of the function, and they describe functions qualitatively based on their graphs. Features Math Mammoth focuses on conceptual understanding. It explains the "WHY", so students can understand the math, not just learn "HOW" to do it. The curriculum is mastery-oriented. This means it concentrates fairly long on a topic, delving into its various aspects. This promotes conceptual understanding, as opposed to spiral curricula that often tend to jump from topic to topic too much. It requires very little teacher preparation. :) The curriculum has no separate teacher's manual nor is it scripted. The introduction to each chapter has some notes for the teacher concerning the material in the chapter. All the instruction is written directly to the student in the worktext. After each chapter introduction, you will find a list of Internet links and resources (games, quizzes, animations, etc.) that can be used for fun, illustrations, and further practice.