Algebra & Functions Workbook: Teacher Guide

lessons.

Welcome

to the Ready, Set, Go! Algebra & Functions Workbook!

About This Book

This book will help high school math students at all learning levels understand basic algebra. Students will develop the skills, confidence, and knowledge they need to succeed on high school math exams with emphasis on passing high school graduation exams.

More than 20 easy-to-follow lessons break down the material into the basics. In-depth, step-by-step examples and solutions reinforce student learning, while the Math Flash feature provides useful tips and strategies, including advice on common mistakes to avoid.

Students can take drills and quizzes to test themselves on the subject matter, then review any areas in which they need improvement or additional reinforcement. The book conclude with a final exam, designed to comprehensively test what students have learned.

The Ready, Set, Go! Algebra & Functions Workbook will help students master the basics of mathematics—and help them face their next math test—with confidence!

Icons Explained

Icons make navigating through the book easier. The icons, explained below, highlight tips and strategies, where to review a topic, and the drills found at the end of each lesson.

Look for the "Math Flash" feature for helpful tips and strategies, including advice on how to avoid common mistakes.

When you see the Let’s Review icon, you know just where to look for more help with the topic on which you are currently working.

The Test Yourself! icon, found at the end of every lesson, signals a short drill that reviews the skills you have studied in that lesson.

The information shown with icons throughout will be helpful to you as you prepare to teach. Alert your students to these simple icons, which highlight:

▶ Additional tips and strategies on the topic, including advice to students on how to avoid common math mistakes.

▶ Links to previous lessons for those students who need more background for the current lesson.

▶ Short drills that give you timely feedback on the effectiveness of your lesson to help you gauge your students’ progress.

To the Teacher

As an educator, you understand how important it is for students to master the basic mathematical concepts in a variety of areas. These all-important skills are the building blocks for advanced education. However, all too often, through no fault of their own, some at risk students fall behind in their learning and development.

With the growing focus on the No Child Left Behind Act, REA designed this workbook based on the Curriculum Focal Points of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This workbook was created to help students increase their math proficiency and succeed on crucial High Stakes Exams.

The workbook is organized so that students can learn each lesson at their own pace. When they feel confident that they’ve mastered the math skills for one area, they can move on to the next lesson. Easy-to-follow lessons focus exclusively on one math concept and offer numerous examples and detailed solutions to problems. The Math Flash feature includes problem-solving tips and strategies to help illustrate and reinforce various methods and ideas, while offering advice on how to avoid common mistakes.

This workbook can be utilized in conjunction with lesson plans, stand alone as a single teaching source, or be used in a group-learning environment. The practice quizzes and drills can be given in the classroom as part of the overall curriculum or used for independent study. A cumulative exam at the end of the workbook helps students (and their instructors) gauge their mastery of the subject matter.

We are confident that this workbook will help your students develop the necessary math skills, and build the confidence they need to succeed. As part of our Ready, Set, Go! series, this workbook makes a welcome addition to any remedial math program and can be incorporated into any learning environment.

Use of Calculators: We at REA recommend that, when possible, you permit students to use a calculator only if the calculations are lengthy or when they are checking their work. Encourage them to do the problems manually. Of course, you must be guided by your own state standard.

Lesson One

Variables and Algebraic Expressions in One Variable

In this lesson, we will explore the meaning of algebraic expressions or an equation that has one unknown. This is represented by a letter. These letters are called variables. You will see that an expression with a variable can be solved when you are given the value of the variable.

Your Goal: When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to determine the value of any algebraic expression involving one variable.

Algebraic expressions contain a combination of letters (called variables) and numbers (called constants). These variables and constants are joined together using any or all of the arithmetic operations. These include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponents. The variables represent unknown quantities. Usually, letters such as x, y, and z are used to represent unknown quantities; however, there is no strict rule as to which letters may be used. In this lesson, we will just use either x, y, or z to represent the unknown quantity. Remember that whenever you see a variable such as x, it means 1 • x, usually written as 1x. Caution: This does not mean that the value of x is 1.

Example:

Evaluate x + 10, given that x = – 3.

Solution:

When we insert – 3 for the x, we get – 3 + 10 = 7. (When we combine two numbers that have unlike signs, we subtract. We keep the sign of the larger number.)

Example:

Evaluate 8 – 2x, given that x = 5.

Solution:

When we substitute 5 for the x, we get 8 – (2)(5) = 8 – 10 = -2.

Example:

Evaluate – 13 – x, given that x = 17.

Solution:

When we substitute 17 for the x, we get – 13 – 17 = – 30. (When we combine two numbers that have the same signs, we add and keep that sign.)

Example:

Evaluate – 4x – 9, given that

Solution:

Example:

Evaluate +9, given that y = – 42.

Solution:

Example:

Evaluate , given that w = – 0.8.

Solution:

Example:

Evaluate – z²+ 25, given that z = 0.4.

Solution:

By substitution, – (0.4)² + 25 = – 0.16 + 25 = 24.84. Hopefully, you remembered that – (0.4)² = – (0.4)(0.4), and that the negative sign preceding the parentheses makes – (0.4)² a negative number.

Example:

Evaluate – 4y²+6y – 2, given that

Solution:

.)

Example:

Evaluate z²+ 4z – 7, given that z = 3.

Solution:

By substitution, (3)² + (4)(3) – 7 = 9 + 12 – 7 = 14.

Example:

Evaluate (6w)²+ 10w – 32, given that

Solution:

(6w)² ≠ 6w²

On the left side, we first multiply 6 by w, then square this result; on the right side, we square w first, then multiply this number by 6. Suppose w = 2. (6 x 2)² = 12² = 144. However, 6(2)² = 6 × 4 = 24. They are not equal!

Evaluate each algebraic expression with the given value of the variable.

Lesson Two

Linear Equations in One Variable—Part I

In this lesson, we will explore the methods to solve a linear equation in one variable. Each of these equations will have a single answer, also called a solution. As in Lesson 1, we will use the letters x, y, or z to represent the unknown quantity; however, you need to understand that any letter may be used.

Your Goal: When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to determine the solution of a linear equation for which there is exactly one solution. In a later lesson, we will work on linear equations for which there is either no solution or infinitely many solutions.

As we proceed through this lesson, you need to know that an equation represents a balance of two equal quantities. Basically, this means that the left side must be equal to the right side. For a linear equation, the highest exponent of the given variable will be 1. In each equation, the letter x will be used. (Any letter would be allowed.)

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation 3x = 33?

Solution:

, so x = 11.

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation x + 11 = 7?

Solution:

Since x is added to 11, we subtract 11 on both sides of the equation. Then x + 11 – 11 = 7 – 11, so x = – 4.

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation x – 22 = – 5?

Solution:

Since x is subtracted by 22, we must add 22 to both sides of the equation. Then x – 22 + 22 = – 5 + 22, so x = 17.

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation ?

Solution:

Example:

What is the valueof xin the equation – 8x = – 2?

Solution:

. (Remember that when dividing two negative numbers, the answer is positive.)

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation x ?

Solution:

Example:

What is the valueof xin the equation ?

Solution:

.)

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation ?

Solution:

or 4.5. Another approach with which you will become familiar later is that you can cross multiply. This means (x)(4)= (3)(6). Then 4x = 18, so x = 4.5.

Example:

What is the value of in the equation ?

Solution:

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation ?

Solution:

Example:

What is the value of x in the equation ?

Solution:

Example:

Whatis the value of x in the equation ?

Solution:

.This is really an answer! Zero is considered an answer in the same way as any other number.

Each of these examples illustrates how to solve a one-step linear equation. Basically, you are undoing an operation that is already applied to the variable. Thus, if x is already added to a particular number, that number must be subtracted from each side of the equation. Also, if x is already multiplied by a particular number, we need to divide by that number on each side of the equation.

.

Solve for the variable.

Lesson Three

Linear Equations in One Variable—Part 2

In this lesson, we will continue to explore the methods to solve a linear equation in one variable. The material you learned in Lesson 2 will be crucial to understanding the material in this lesson. The equations will need more than one step to solve, so be patient and careful. We will also study linear equations that have either no solution or infinitely many solutions. In this lesson, we will use different letters to represent the unknown quantity.

Your Goal: When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to solve any linear equation in one