Know the Vocabulary of Algebra

In order to read and speak the language of maths, there are a number words and actions we have to know.

Here are some of the most commonly used ones:

This is a symbol for a number we don't know yet. (We use any letter x, y a, b etc.)

This is either a number, or a variable or a variable and number multiplied together ( x or 5 or 5x etc.)

A group of terms separated by + and - (2w + 3 or 4 - n etc.)

This says that two things are equal. That is, an expression on the left = an expression on the right.

That's a lot of stuff to remember but you can look back at this introduction at any point during this activity by clicking on the red help button on the screen.

Let's get started!