Algebra is great fun - you get to solve puzzles!
A PuzzleWhat is the missing number?
−2=4OK, the answer is 6, right? Because 6 − 2 = 4. Easy stuff.
Well, in Algebra we don't use blank boxes, we use a letter (usually an x or y, but any letter is fine). So we write:
x−2=4It is really that simple. The letter (in this case an x) just means "we don't know this yet", and is often called the unknown or the variable.
And when we solve it we write:
x=6Why Use a Letter? Because:
it is easier to write "x" than drawing empty boxes (and easier to say "x" than "the empty box").
if there are several empty boxes (several "unknowns") we can use a different letter for each one.So x is simply better than having an empty box. We aren't trying to make words with it!
And it doesn't have to be x, it could be y or w ... or any letter or symbol we like.
How to Solve Algebra is just like a puzzle where we start with something like "x − 2 = 4" and we want to end up with something like "x = 6".
But instead of saying "obviously x=6", use this neat step-by-step approach:
−2=4OK, the answer is 6, right? Because 6 − 2 = 4. Easy stuff.
Well, in Algebra we don't use blank boxes, we use a letter (usually an x or y, but any letter is fine). So we write:
x−2=4It is really that simple. The letter (in this case an x) just means "we don't know this yet", and is often called the unknown or the variable.
And when we solve it we write:
x=6Why Use a Letter? Because:
it is easier to write "x" than drawing empty boxes (and easier to say "x" than "the empty box").
if there are several empty boxes (several "unknowns") we can use a different letter for each one.So x is simply better than having an empty box. We aren't trying to make words with it!
And it doesn't have to be x, it could be y or w ... or any letter or symbol we like.
How to Solve Algebra is just like a puzzle where we start with something like "x − 2 = 4" and we want to end up with something like "x = 6".
But instead of saying "obviously x=6", use this neat step-by-step approach:
- Work out what to remove to get "x = ..."
- Remove it by doing the opposite (adding is the opposite of subtracting)
- Do that to both sides