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I thought you could get a used Jacob's Algebra fairly inexpensively, but I can't!


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Every one I find is about $50! What's the deal?

 

I had planned one using MUS for my mathphobic son since I picked up the TM and DVDs for cheap at an expo. But they are the old comb-bound version and when I went today to order the student text, they told me the version I have is obsolete. I will need to get the whole kit if I want to use MUS.

 

So, I thought I would pick up one the Jacob's and just take a look. I don't like the busy pages of Lial's. I think it would overwhelm my son.

 

Suggestions? Anyone have a Jacob's to sell?

 

Also, if I decide to go with Jacob's, what all do I need besides the student text?

 

Thanks,

Kim

Edited by home4school
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The new MUS doesn't match exactly to the old workbooks, but you can probably find pages that will work the problems you need- it just won't be an exact match. Look at the MUS page explaining placement for folks going from the old to the new version to get an idea of what workbook might work. Also, for regular computation problems, you can print out worksheet pages from the MUS website. It's not ideal, but can be done.

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The lady I spoke with at MUS said my old book has 34 lessons and that fact makes it useless. If it was the old one with 35 lessons, it could be matched up to the new student text.

 

She said the algebra level has revisions that are crucial to making this a much better program and it would be worth the extra money to buy the kit new. Even if I could find an older comb-bound book, she said the revisions to this level have made the program better by leaps and bounds.

 

When I go back and look at the sample pages, there doesn't seem to be a lot of word problems. I wonder how the content compares to Jacobs.

 

UGH! All these past months, I thought I had algebra squared away. Now it's back to square one.

 

Back to the search. :(

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I thought you could get a used Jacob's Algebra fairly inexpensively, but I can't!

 

Every one I find is about $50! What's the deal?

 

I believe it's because there has only been one edition of Jacobs' Elementary Algebra; therefore, the book retains its resale value.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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The lady I spoke with at MUS said my old book has 34 lessons and that fact makes it useless. If it was the old one with 35 lessons, it could be matched up to the new student text.

 

This is odd, because the MUS support people on the MUS yahoo group tell how to do this all the time. If you still want to use the MUS, you can join the Yahoo group and find it in the archives or ask and Lisa or Miriam (MUS employees) will help you. There is a support document you can download with the instructions (even if you have the 34 lesson version), but the link isn't working on the website, so you really need one of their support people to walk you through it. Feel free to PM me and I'll give you the email address of one of the ladies who WILL help instead of telling you to buy new.

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Thank you, Debbie, for that. I stumbled across a download thru a google search today that shows how to match up the old 34 lesson TM. Then I found the download for the Honors solution key.

 

I did submit a request to join the yahoo group, but haven't heard back yet. The way the rep talked on the phone, you would have thought the algebra level was totally revamped. This old TM seems to have everything except walking thru the Honors lessons, but surely I can wing it with the help of the answer key. It shows the steps to the solutions.

 

I don't know, maybe I'm missing the obvious here or maybe the rep just wanted a bigger sale.

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I think you got a bad rep. They do encourage people to get the new TM for algebra because it can be confusing with the lessons not lining up, but always say if that isn't in the budget they will help you through. I hope you can get enough support to feel comfortable with it.

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I got mine for around $30. That's as inexpensive as I've ever seen it.

 

I just recently picked up the textbook/TM combo for $30 ppd, and that was a great deal. I got it off homeschoolclassifieds.com. Check all the homeschool for sale sites, and hopefully you'll find one at that price! I haven't seen it any less than that anywhere, and usually if it's $30, it's just the textbook.

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It did used to be available inexpensively when it was "the" algebra book for homeschoolers. We have a used homeschool book store near us and there used to be several Jacobs' texts on any given day. Now there are often none. Since there are a number of other texts, there are fewer Jacobs being used and then resold, so they go at a higher price. I got a used one within the last year for $30, but that's close to the lowest I'd seen. Ds broke the binding on his. :glare:

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