Pickett Elementary Simplex Math Slide Rule Instructions

Maurice L. Hartung, a mathematics professor at the University of Chicago, wrote this 48-page booklet in 1965. It sold separately for $1.00, but it was also included with Pickett's N901 simplex slide rule (1995.0126.02). John W. Pickett marketed that rule to teachers and students from the second grade up.

The instructions are structured as a workbook, requiring students to fill in a blank for each numbered item. The items both explain the slide rule's functions and test students' comprehension. The answers are printed in the right margin of each page. The manual covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, proportion and percent, scientific notation, decimal points, squares and square roots, and the C, D, CI, and L scales. The inside back cover advertises the benefits of Pickett all metal slide rules and provides instructions for caring for the slide rule.

The ten-digit phone number for Pickett, Inc., in Santa Barbara, Calif., is written in ink on the back cover of the booklet, above the printed copyright date and company address.

References: Greg Scott, "Pickett – Elementary Simplex Math Slide Rule," http://sliderule.ozmanor.com/man/man020-pickn901es-01.html.

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