Welcome to Shibe's first algebra class
Soo... it has come to my attention that some people have trouble with algebra. Thus, this thread was born. (keep in mind that I'm not an actual teacher, so this may not be the best way to learn)
How this thread will work is that I will post some of my strategies below, right under the divider. On the second post, I will post some problems for you to test your skills on. After a week or so, I'll post the answers and work to the problems below said problems, and I'll add more problems.
Repliers are expected to either a) post with their work so I can make sure you're doing the right thing, b) ask questions if they get stuck. It is advised to at least try first before asking for help as then I can see what mistakes you have made and help you fix them. Hopefully.
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ALGEBRA STRATEGIES
So, I hope you guys know the order of operations. Or BEDMAS. Or PEDMAS. Or whatever your school system may use. But for those who don't know, here is what it is;
Brackets
Exponents
Division
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction
As you can see, this shows what order the operations are done in (hence why it's referred to as the order of operations).
The thing is, once you are faced with an algebraic problem, you want to separate the wanted variable from everything else on it's side. The order that we remove these things in is in the reverse of BEDMAS. In other words, you add/subtract first, then divide/multiply, then square/square root, then work on the things in the brackets.
One thing to make sure of is that you are doing the same thing to both sides of the equation. For example, is you were faced with 20 = x + 1 , you would have to make sure you subtract 1 from both sides so that the x would be alone.