ALGEBRA YEAR 8

SEASON 1 EPISODE 1

TEXTBOOK CHAPTERS COVERED: 1A, 1B

SYLLABUS:

“Algebraic Techniques”
 THIS CHAPTER IS AN INTRODUCTION TO ALGEBRA AND ITS TERMS.
The next lesson will explore more on algebraic operations.

What is the purpose of Algebra?

- The purpose of algebra is to make it easier to state mathematical relationships.

- It shortens the calculation process by using letters as opposed to continuous
numerical calculations.
- Algebra allows us to substitute values into equations to find unknown quantities.

EXAMPLE:
Joe owns an ice cream van, where he sells soft serve for $4.
On Day 1, Joe sells 6 soft serves. How much money did Joe earn on Day 1?
On Day 2, Joe sells 20 soft serves. How much money did Joe earn on Day 2?
On Day 3, Joe sells 2 soft serves. How much money did Joe earn on Day 3?
On Day 4, Joe sells 54 soft serves. How much money did Joe earn on Day 4?

Now, instead of calculating how much money Joe earned every day. We can use algebra to
create an equation, which tells us how much Joe earns every day.

y=4 x

This equation represents how much money Joe earns every day.
- The y in the equation represents the total money earned by Joe per day.
- The x in the equation represents the number of soft serves sold by Joe.

Using the algebraic equation, can you find how much Joe earned on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and
Day 4?
The Language of Algebra:

- In algebra a letter is used to represent one or more numbers. These letters are called
pronumerals or variables.

For example: Consider the equation from before. What are the variables/pronumerals?
What do they represent?

a
- The term a × b=ab. Similarly, the term a ÷ b= .
b
Can you express the following by using the language of algebra?
1) b × x
2) f ÷ q
3) HCL × pq
4) mno ÷ fg

- The term a × a=a2 . (This will be explored more in depth in ‘INDICIES’).

1) p × p
2) pq ×q

- An expression in algebra is a combination of letters (pronumerals) and numbers

combined with mathematical operations (operations are ± ,÷ , × ¿

Can you make an algebraic expression?

- A term in algebra is a part of an expression with only pronumerals and numbers.

Can you provide an example of a term?

 - A coefficient is the number in front of a pronumeral.
- A term that does not contain a pronumeral is called a constant.

Do you remember what a pronumeral is?

Consider the following expression 2 x+5 y −3 c+ 4 d + 5

Can you list the pronumerals? What is the coefficient for each pronumeral? Is there a
constant in the expression above?

Solve the following:

1) 2 x+ 9 pq - 8

a) Find the coefficient of ‘pq’.

b) Find the coefficient of ‘x’.

c) Find the constant term in the expression above.

2) −88 y +2. Find the coefficient of y and find the constant term.

3) 8 p+9 q−99+ 2. Find the coefficient of q and find the constant term.
 - Sum means addition between numbers.
For example, the sum of a and b can be represented as ______.

- Difference means subtraction between numbers.

For example, the difference between a and b can be represented as ________.

- Product means multiplication between numbers.

For example, the product between a and b can be represented as ______ or ______.

- Quotient means division between numbers.

For example, the quotient of a and b can be represented as ______ or ______.

- Square means making a number to the power of 2. I.e. consider a random number 2,
2 squared can be represented as 22 .

What does ‘a’ squared look like?

What does ‘ab’ squared look like?

QUESTIONS:
Substitution and Equivalence

- To substitute means to replace the pronumeral with a number to find a certain

value.

For example, consider the expression 4x. Can you substitute x = 2?

Now consider the expression: pq+2 x+ 99.

What is the value of the expression above, when p = 2, q = 0 and x = 5?

- Equivalence means when two expression or terms are equal to each other.

For example, are the following expressions equivalent?

2=2

2=5

x=x

p q
=
q p

a+ b=b+a

a−b=b−a
There are two types of equivalence laws: commutative and associative law. (You do not
need to remember these laws; however, you need to know the principle behind them).

- Commutative Law tells us that a+ b=b+a∧b ×a=a × b

Prove the commutative law above.

Can you give an example of the commutative law?

- Associative law tells us that a+ ( b+c )=( a+b ) +c ∧¿

a × ( b ×c )=(a ×b)× c

Prove the associative law above.

Can you give an example of the associative law?