Online Resource for Algebra I

Quadratics

kerriousaboutalgebra — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:29:23 +0000

Quadratics is an extension of polynomials, and in a way, they are similar to equations of lines. Quadratics are polynomials where the highest power is two, they open up or down, can be put in order of width based on the equation, and are used to solve a variety of real-world applications.

SIMPLIFYING SQUARE ROOTS

YourTeacher.com Video – A short video on simplifying square roots – doesn’t include variables
Example with videos – There are two methods on simplifying square roots, and there is a video on each method. DEFINITELY worth clicking on.
Perfect and non-perfect squares – Examples and explanation
Adding variables – Simplifying square roots with variables

Tagged: algebra, algebra I, graphing quadratics, Quadratics, simplifying quadratics, simplifying square roots, square roots

Polynomials

kerriousaboutalgebra — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:07:56 +0000

Overall, polynomials really aren’t that hard. In fact, adding and subtracting them simply requires lining up like terms and then using the rules for adding and subtracting with negatives and positives.

Multiplying isn’t too bad, and you’ll get into dividing later on in other math classes, but I’ll add some links here just to do it.

Factoring polynomials takes a little bit of practice, but after you see the patterns that becomes second nature. Well, hopefully it does!

Adding and Subtracting

Degrees – Explains the degrees of polymomials (video)
Practice test – A self-assessment on polynomials and combining like terms
Adding and subtacting online – Shows you the results for polynomial addition and subtraction
Explains how to add and subtract – An about.com site on polynomials
Quiz (5 Questions) – From the textbook publisher, Prentice-Hall

Multiplying, Factoring, and Dividing Polynomials

Video on real-world application (multiplying) – From the textbook publisher, Prentice-Hall
Multiplication of polynomials – Uses the distributive property
Lots of practice – Different links to choose from for practice on multiplication of polynomials
Factoring – Purplemath.com explains how to factor
Finding the GCF – Interactive practice on writing the GCF of polynomials
Division – Great examples on dividing polynomials
Video on division – May be hard to see, but the examples are talked through

Tagged: adding polynomials, algebr, algebra, dividing polynomials, factoring, factoring special cases, multiplying polynomials, Polynomials, practice quiz, subtracting polynomials

Exponents

kerriousaboutalgebra — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:54:51 +0000

Exponents are simply multiplication, but exponents are used as a shortcut and to keep the math more precise. Understanding how to write an expression using exponents and to simplify and solve an exponential expression is very important for algebra and further math courses.

EXPONENTIAL EXPRESSIONS

Basic rules of exponents – A Purplemath.com site on exponent rules
Overview of expressions – Examples of expressions, including factorials (something that is learned in later math classes)
Exponential rules – Rules for negative, multiplying, dividing, and power to a power
Video on negative exponents – A YouTube video on negative exponents
Rules with examples and videos – Good overview of exponent rules, and includes some videos
Video on multiplying exponents – A YouTube video (about 2 min) on how to multiply exponents
Cliff Notes on exponents – Cliff Notes version of basics of exponents

Tagged: dividing exponents, Exponents, multiplying exponents, negative exponents, power to a power, scientific notation, simplifying exponents

Slope and Equations of Lines

kerriousaboutalgebra — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:26:02 +0000

Slope is just the rate of change of a line. There are 4 slopes for a line: positive, negative, zero, and no slope. Slope can be calculated on a graph by looking at the change in y (rise) over the change in x (run) and by the equation: m = (y2 – y1)/(x2 – x1), where m = slope and (x1, y1) is one coordinate point and (y1, y2) is another coordinate point.

SLOPE

Basics – The Purplemath.com site breaks down slope very well.
Mathematical symbols – Shows the mathematical symbols of slope.
Tutorial, practice, and video – Worth watching to show you more on calculating slope.

Tagged: Add new tag, change in x, change in y, horizontal, m, negative slope, no slope, positive slope, rise, run, slope, vertical, zero slope

Relations and Functions and Lines

kerriousaboutalgebra — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:07:26 +0000

Relations are a set of coordinate points, where as functions are more restrictive. A lot of what you deal with in life is related to functions, even if you don’t realize it. Ever take a taxi ride? That’s a function. Your parents deal with it when they pay the electric bill or calculate how much the rent or mortgage is going to cost them each year.

BASICS OF RELATIONS AND FUNCTIONS

Basics with examples – Examples with graphs and mapping diagrams
Movies – Watch movies on roller coasters, music, etc. All are short, and all relate to math! Find the topic, click on “Get the Activity”, and then “Watch the movie”
Examples and definitions – Describes the terms and gives examples

EQUATIONS OF LINES

Interactive applet – You can control the slope and y-intercept
Video (google) on graphing – Shows you how to graph the y-intercept and the slope
Great examples of graphs and equations – Definitely look at this!!!!

Tagged: domain, Functions, mapping, mapping diagrams, range, relations

Solving Equations and Inequalites

kerriousaboutalgebra — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:52:09 +0000

Many people think of “letters and numbers together” when they think of algebra. The “letters” are variables that are used to find “the unknown”. This is actually useful in everyday life in many fields, such as (but not limited to): business (how many products need to be sold?), construction (what is the weight limit that a bridge can hold?), education (how many students can the building support?), etc.

Here are some links that can help you learn how to solve equations.

SOLVING ONE AND TWO-STEP EQUATIONS

One-step equations – AlgebraLab.com’s site on one-step problems: examples, explanations, and practice problems
Two-step equations – A few examples and some practice
Interactive two-step – You move things to solve these. This can be downloaded to work offline.

SOLVING MULTI-STEP EQUATIONS

Combining like terms – Examples and non-examples from Purplemath.com
Solving proportions – Solving for the unknown in a proportion
Lesson and examples – A math.com site with some practice and examples
Game on Quia – Developed by another teacher on combining like terms
Multi-step equations – Starts with two-step but includes multi-step equations
Variables on both sides – A busy site, but there are some useful links and examples
Practice, examples, and distributive property – Examples to illustrate and practice with feedback for you

SOLVING PROPORTIONS

Proportions and cross-multiplying - Explains proportions
Lesson and examples – A math.com site with some practice and examples

SOLVING INEQUALITIES

Ever hear, “I need at least $40 to pay for the tickets…” or “In order to ride the roller coaster, you must be at least x ft tall.”? Well, these are inequalities.

In order to solve inequalities, use the same process as solving equations - EXCEPT when you divide or multiply through by a negative in order to solve. HUH? See these websites for more help.

Introduction – The Purplemath.com site gives examples as well as the number line graphs.
Practice graphing inequalities – An online quiz for more practice
Writing inequalities - Verbal to algebraic expressions
Dividing and multiplying through by a negative – The bottom of the page shows you how to FLIP the inequality if the coefficient is negative

Tagged: combining like terms, distributive property, Equations, Inequalities, inequality, negative coefficients, one-step equations, proportions, two-step equations, variables on both sides

Properties of Real Numbers and Expressions

kerriousaboutalgebra — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:24:59 +0000

Math uses logic. Solving for the “unknown” requires logic. In order to find the value of the variable, you need to use math reasoning, which uses the properties. It is also important to know how to write a variable expression so you can start to solve equations and inequalities.

PROPERTIES OF REAL NUMBERS

Some of the basic properties – A math.com site that lists the basic properties
Definitions including “transitive” – This gives a very basic definition of some properties, such as transitive
College site that goes over properties – Algebra is taught in college, and the skills learned in Algebra are used thoughout other math and math-related courses, so take a look at this site. It’s long, but has some good information
Videos on HippoCampus – Go to the HippoCampus link, click on Algebra 1A, and view the INTERACTIVE videos on the site. These are EXCELLENT!!!

VARIABLE EXPRESSIONS

Matching Game – Five sentences and expressions to match up
Video Tutor – From PrenticeHall, two videos on solving algebraic expressions
Practice Quiz – Five questions on algebraic expressions
Videos on HippoCampus – Go to the HippoCampus link, click on Algebra 1A, and view the INTERACTIVE videos on the site. These are EXCELLENT!!! (same link as above)

Tagged: Add new tag, Equations, inequaities, Properties, property, Variable Expressions

Algebra Basics – Integers and Order of Operations

kerriousaboutalgebra — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:55:55 +0000

It is IMPERATIVE that you have a solid understanding of integers and order of operations. And – using a calculator to find the answer does not show a solid understanding. In addition to reviewing integers and order of operations, you will need to go over data analysis – especially matrices, box and whisker plots, and measures of variation. These are concepts you learned about in grade school and middle school/jr. high, so this should just be a review.

***These links open in a new window. Please let me know if this is obnoxious or not. I am open to making this better, so instead of saying “obnoxious” (which can be construed as rude), you can just say, “Thanks for the links, but instead of opening in a new window each time, it’d be better to have them open in the same window.” OR, “Thanks for the links and having them open in a separate window. This really does help.”

INTEGERS

Quia game – A game on integers, absolute value, and the order of operations. Nothing to download – just play to test yourself.
Find the picture - Practice on integer operations by matching the correct answer to the expression and get a picture
Integer game – Choose the difficulty level and the problem type and the duration

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

Order of operations – A lesson and online practice. Make sure you don’t use a calculator!
Order of operation lesson and practice – A math.com site that goes over order of operations and has practice as well.
Pretest – Test yourself on the order of opertions with this 10 question pretest.

Algebra Basics – Data Analysis

kerriousaboutalgebra — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:11:39 +0000

This post has links to help you review data analysis – specifically matrices, box and whisker plots, and stem and leaf plots. You’ll also see two links on mean, median, mode, and range.

MATRICES

Adding and subtracting – A lesson with examples on adding and subtracting matrices, with some practice embedded as well.
Lesson and examples – Gives some basic definitions, examples, as well as a link to some more practice problems on adding and subtracting matrices
Scalar multiplication – You can ignore the part about mulitplying matrices (although, it’s not really hard after you look at it), but look at the first part with scalar multiplication

DATA ANALYSIS

Lesson on box and whisker plots – This is a Purplemath.com site that goes over the components of a box and whisker plot – LOOK AT THIS!
17 practice problems on box and whisker plots – Really cool! There are problems with the answers, HOWEVER, instead of just getting the answers, you get hints to help teach you. Awesome
Practice on data – Some good information here with some good practice problems.
More practice on data – If nothing else, go to the bottom of the page for the practice problems.
Venn diagrams – How to use and create Venn diagrams on Purplemath.com.
Stem and leaf plots – Shows how to create stem and leaf plots from a set of data
Quia game on mean, median, mode, and range – You have to get the right answer to move on
Short practice quizzes – Data analysis, probablity, and mean, median, and mode.
Interactive practice – A Shodor.com site that allows you to manipulate the data