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UPDATED TO 2022 SYLLABUS

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MATHEMATICS
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE ALGEBRA SYLLABUS
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1. Sequences, Functions and

Graphs
1.1. Graphs
A linear graph is a graph in the form of a line.
All graphs have y-axes and x-axes
X-axes are horizontal while y-axes are vertical
A linear graph has the formula of y=mx+c, where m is the
gradient and c is the y-intercept.
The gradient of a graph is the steepness of it
If the value of the gradient is positive, the line is going
upwards
If the value of the gradient is negative, the line is going
downwards
The intersection of two points in a linear graph is the
solution to the pair of lines/simultaneous equations.
1.2. Sequences
A sequence is a pattern in multiple terms grouped
together
Patterns are usually adding a constant number to each of
the terms, or subtracting a constant number.
E.g. 5,7,9,11… the pattern in the sequence is adding 2 to
each term.
These sequences can be represented using an equation.
E.g. for the above sequence, the representation is y =
Graphs of direct proportion cross the origin (0,0). 3+2n, where y is the next term and n is the number of the
The inverse of a linear function is different from a linear term is the sequence.
function, as it’s domain and ranges are opposites. This can help find the nth term of a sequence, where n is
\ a given whole number.
E.g. if we were supposed to find the 48th tern, we could
do 3+2(49) = 101.
To find the nth term, use the formula a(n) = a(1)+(n-1)d,
where a(n) is the term needed to be found, a(1) is the first
term, n is the term number of a(n) and d is the difference.

2. Expressions
Expressions are commonly used in algebra
A linear expression is an expression to the power of 1.
A term is an expression containing at least a single
mathematical expression.
E.g. Find the inverse of f(x) = 3x-5) A variable is a letter used to represent an unknown
number, while the coefficient is the recognisable number
next to it.

E.g. 6a = 6 times the value of ‘a’.

Expressions can contain one or more variables, and one

or more coefficients.
An expression does not contain an ‘=’ symbol.
We can break down/simplify an expression to make it
looks smaller and neater, by bringing the terms together.

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E.g. 6x + 3y + 4x+ 7y A solution set can be written by the use of a number line.
= 6x + 4x + 3y + 7y
= 10x + 10y,
which can be factored into 10(x+y) using the distributive law.

2.2. Equations
Equations are two or more expressions, equated using
the symbol ‘=’ which means ‘is equal to’
An equation usually has an expression on either side of
the ‘=’ symbol.
Whenever we perform any action to one side of the
equation, we must also perform it to the other side to
keep the equation balanced.
Simultaneous equations are two or more equations
which have the same solutions. We can perform
operations on simultaneous equations to solve them.

E.g. 2x+8y = 12 --- (Multiply by 3) 2.3. Formulae

3x+4y = 10 --- (Multiply by 2)
6x+24y = 36
A formula is a mathematical rule expressed in algebraic
- 6x+8y = 20 symbols.
We can substitute values into formulae to be able to solve
16y = 16
an equation.
So y = 1
E.g. If the formula to find y is 25-x, we can take the value of x
We can substitute the value of y into the equation. 4y
as 1,2,3 and so on to be able to find the value of y.
means 4 times y, which is 4x1 = 4
The plural of ‘formula’ is ‘formulae’.
So we can then write 3x+4 = 10
A function is a relationship between two or more
So, 3x = 6
variables. A
We can get that x = 2.
Changing the subject in an equation means changing the
Inequalities can be written using the symbols <, >, ≤ and equation in a way that we get a required variable on one
≥. side of the equation.

E.g. y = k/x
And we want to make this in terms of x
Multiply both equations by x and divide by y
So we can get x = k/y

The quadratic equation comes in the form of

ax^2+ bx + c = 0,
where a, b, and c are known, while x is unknown,
and a is not equal to 0, and the highest power/degree is of 2.

We can simplify quadratic equations.

Likewise, we can also expand quadratic equations.

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