3. Algebra – what is it?
Algebra is the art of problem solving, which requires
mathematical knowledge.
Algebra problems often present themselves as written
text or points of discussion which require mathematics
to unravel the unknown – or solve the puzzle:
Such as - there are “y” male kittens in the litter. This is three
more than four times the number of female kittens “x”. How
many female kittens are in the litter ?
Which can be written numerically as
4x + 3= y.
We need to isolate the x, as it is the unknown number of girls in the
litter; so we re-arrange the equation to solve for x
Therefore; x = (y − 3) / 4
4. Algebraic Terminology
Click on the word to transfer you to the definition.
This is the home screen.
Algebraic Expression
Coefficient
Monomial
Binomial
Trinomial
Variable Constant
Resource References
Operator
5. Algebraic equation
An algebraic equation. noun
It is an equation in the form of a polynomial having a finite
number terms, in which the left hand side of the equation
equals the right hand side.
What is a polynomial
Algebra – Noun
an expression consisting of the sum of two or more terms each of which is the
product of a constant and a variable raised to an integral power:
ax 2+ bx + c = d is a polynomial, where a, b, c and d are constants and x is a variable.
a similar expression with more than one variable would be
4 x 2 y 3− 3 xy + 5 x + 7 = 0. where x & y are the variables
7. Binomials
noun
In algebra a binomial is an expression that is a sum or
difference of two terms, as 3 x + 2 y and x 2− 4 x.
Don’t panic, it’s not that bad
8. Trinomial
noun
In algebra a trinomial is an expression that is a sum or
difference of three terms, as 3x + 2y + z
Note the similarities in prefixes between the algebra terms
and the different types of cycles above
mono means singular, bi means two and tri means three,
this is the same prefixes used in algebra
9. Variable also known as the
unknown
The variable is the
unknown quantity in the
equation.
It is usually represented with
an x or y, as most equations
can be graphed and the
unknown is then referenced
against either the “x” or “y”
axis of the graph.
If the unknown is a portion of
time, it is often labelled “t”
If the unknown is a velocity
(speed), it is often labelled “s”
10. The Coefficient of the Variable
Noun
A coefficient is a number
used to multiply a variable, it
is usually placed before the
variable and can be a whole
number or a fraction.
An example
4x means 4 times x, so 4 is a
coefficient)
Is the above cartoon really true?
What are your thoughts?
11. Operator
An operator is any of the mathematical functions that
asks you to perform an action, such as
Multiply or divide
Addition or subtraction
Intergers
12. The Constant
A constant is a number on its own whose quantity
remains unchanged throughout a discussion
By definition p (pi) is a known fixed number and
could be considered a constant
