Page 86 - Mathematics

Activity 5.1: Using algebraic expressions in daily life experiences

1. Explore different resources to discover various daily life activities whose processes
can be represented by algebraic expressions.
2. Express algebraically the scenarios explored in task 1 and provide justifications
for your answers.

Algebraic equations
An algebraic equation is a mathematical statement connecting two algebraic expressions
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with an equal sign (=). It expresses a statement or a problem in a clear and short way.

For example, 2x = 16 and 3x + 4y = 8 are algebraic equations. Therefore, an equation
has two equal sides, the left-hand side and the right-hand side.

Linear equations
A linear equation is an algebraic equation in which each variable has an exponent
of one. A linear equation can have one or more unknown variables. For example,
10
3x − 27= and 2z += are linear equations with one variable x and z, respectively,
whereas 5x + 2y = 9 and 2x − 3y = 1are linear equations with two variables x and .y

Formulation of linear equations
A linear equation can be formulated from a real-life activity or from a given word
problem. Formulation of a linear equation from a real-life scenario or word problem
involves identifying the unknown, assigning the unknown with a variable, and finally
writing the equation based on the given conditions.
The following table shows some common words used in word problems which involve
mathematical operations.

Words Mathematical symbol

+
Addition, sum, increased by, plus, total, more than, exceed
Mathematics Form One Difference, subtract, decreased, reduced by, minus, less than ×
−

Multiplication, times, product, multiplied by

÷
Division, divided by, quotient, ratio
Equals, result is, is equal to, is, gives, the same as
=

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25/10/2024 09:51:24
Mathematics form 1.indd 80
Mathematics form 1.indd 80 25/10/2024 09:51:24