How can I retroactively improve my mathematical maturity?

Question

For context, I'm a junior in undergrad studying Political Science, so as you can imagine, I don't have a ton of math experience. I'm currently in a discrete class as a part of my computer science minor, and am struggling with proofs (mainly induction) primarily, in my guess, because I never got comfortable with fundamental algebra.I tended to avoid any math wherever possible because I did not grok it naturally, but when I took calculus last fall, I actually fell in love. However, as stated above, I struggle with basic elements due to my prior avoidance and because this is coming to a head with my struggles with proofs, I would love any resources you all can give me that would help me recalibrate my missing knowledge / practice.I hope this made sense and thank ya'll in advance.

roughntough · Accepted Answer

Sounds like you need to strengthen your "elementary algebra". That is the term you're looking for because "fundamental algebra" can mean many different things depeding on the context(for example, "abstract algebra" or "universal algebra"). Check Amazon for books titled "elementary algebra". There will be a lot of titles to choose from. Choose the one you like and study. Or just google "elementary algebra pdf". There should be a lot free resources there as well. Just stick to books with modern fonts for reasons I don't feel like detailing right now.
Another kind of book that might be helpful is the kind written for engineering students in your situation. For example, check out "Engineering Math by Stroud & Booth [0].
[0] https://www.google.com/books/edition/Engineering_Mathematics...