Intro to Algebra - Continued

We are continuing to introduce Algebra and the processes we follow working with this. Be sure to familiarise yourself with the table of common algebra words and their definitions in the previous post. These are really important to understand, as they are used a lot in Algebra now and in the future.

One common misconception that I have be noticing come in when we are substituting. Substitution is the process where we replace the pronumerals (letters) with number values and actually solve algebraic expressions or equations. So for example, solve;

a + 3, when a = 6

We would simply replace the "a" with the value of 6 and solve, getting;

6 + 3 = 9

The misconception occurs when we have a problem like this. Solve; 

4b, when b = 7

We need to remember when we write 4b, what we are really saying is "4 lots of b" or "4 multiplied by b". This can be confusing, because if we replace the "b" with a 7 in this example, we could think the solution is actually 47, which is incorrect. This is why it is really important to remember that 4b really means "4 lots of b". So the solution for this example would be; 

4 x 7 = 28

You should be able to finish off the first worksheet for this algebra unit, which can be found in the "Worksheets" tab. We do not have maths again till Thursday the 29th of October, so this should give you plenty of time to finish this off. Remember to check your answers as you go. Some of the answers given by this worksheet are incorrect, however these are quite obviously wrong. 

If you have any questions on anything to do with this post or the worksheet, feel free to comment on this post, or email or chat to me in person.