Questions tagged [algebra]

Algebra is the part of mathematics in which letters and other general symbols are used to represent numbers and quantities in formulae and equations.

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Multiplying the square roots of negative numbers before we calculate a result using $i$ [closed]

To evaluate $\sqrt{-1}$ $\times$ $\sqrt{-1}$ we cannot use $\sqrt{A}$ $\times$ $\sqrt{B}$ = $\sqrt{AB}$ as the result would be 1. I know (?) that we must first respect that the initial numbers ...
JTP - Apologise to Monica's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
453 views

Do my students know elementary algebra; do they just use online calculators or external help; and is this ok?

Background I know the question in the title is very broad so I will try to explain it as succinctly as I can. Half my time is spent on as a researcher on didactics, while the other half is devoted to ...
N3buchadnezzar's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
438 views

Looking for a rigorous middle school self-study math course

My son is in 5th grade (US) and since he is doing remote learning, we have been doing a lot of topics in pre-algebra just using worksheets. I'd like to start him on a formal middle school curriculum, ...
rbp's user avatar
  • 363
2 votes
3 answers
981 views

What is the motivation for teaching Factoring by Grouping?

This seems like such a niche trick to teach students when factoring polynomials. Like, the polynomials I've seen textbooks ask students to factor by grouping seem so cherry picked that I can't imagine ...
Mike Pierce's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
2k views

I'm in 8th grade and just finished Algebra 2. What math would I do for the next 4 years? [closed]

I'm in 8th grade and just finished Algebra 2. What math would I do for the next 2 years? In what order would math I would do in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. Thanks!
Luke Justin's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
545 views

Why is isolating for $x$ taught before factoring?

I'm currently working on some precalculus packages for students who need review. For inspiration, I'm looking at some prealgebra books and I'm wondering why isolating for $x$ is taught before ...
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3 votes
3 answers
176 views

How do I teach my kid [closed]

I am struggling with teaching my 9th grade kid to solve math problems that are just outside of routine. For e.g., An example problem given by math teacher at school. x, y, z are in geometric ...
bhakta's user avatar
  • 31
1 vote
0 answers
94 views

Exercises for explaning homothety, homothetic center, similarity on line and plane, free vector and vector space

I need the collection of exercises for such topics as: maps and transformations, composition of maps homothety, rotation homothety, homothetic center similarities of the line and the plane free ...
paus's user avatar
  • 103
2 votes
8 answers
540 views

Practical case for solving with system of 2 equations

When I teach basic math I want to emphasize on it's power (algebraic part for starters) as a tool for solving certain problems you cannot solve with naked brain, so that one models a problem with ...
Slaus's user avatar
  • 147
2 votes
4 answers
793 views

When does thinking $(-8)^{1/3} = -2$ result in problems for an undergraduates?

In high school we learn that the cube root of $-8$ is $-2$. Much later some of us learn about the single valued natural logarithm of a complex number, and that $w^z = e^{z\cdot Lz(w)}$ when $w$ and $z$...
Ted Ersek's user avatar
  • 241
0 votes
4 answers
880 views

What topics are considered to be part of pre-algebra?

I know pre-algebra is like a terminology thrown around to really basic stuff that are taught before high school algebra. Some stuff taught there are already considered as part of algebra in some ...
AndroidV11's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
157 views

How can I introduce the idea of eigenvectors and matrix decompositions to a general audience in an engaging manner?

So I'm doing a freelance writing job, writing a script for a YouTube video about eigenvectors/values. It took me a while to decide what the focus was going to be, but I finally settled on focusing on ...
Mikayla Eckel Cifrese's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
1k views

Courses equivalent to College Algebra in other countries?

In USA, there is a course called College Algebra and a course description may look like the following: This course provides students an opportunity to gain algebraic knowledge needed in ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 4,265
5 votes
2 answers
197 views

Is evaluating a Real Polynomial at a Complex Value a suitable task for Precalculus students?

In Korea, basically every teaching material for 10th grade math(about the level of precalculus) contains this kind of exercises in their first treatment of complex numbers: Evaluate $f(x)=4x^4-8x^3+...
Hyobin Lee's user avatar
74 votes
17 answers
10k views

How shall we teach math online?

Many universities, including mine, are now requiring we teach our courses online because corona. How shall we do this? Let’s brainstorm here. Some challenges: My school provides limited online ...
Stephen Herschkorn's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
185 views

How to motivate my ten year old math student

I work as a private math tutor. I have a student, she is 10 years old. Her mother has asked me to provide assistance in preparation for the admission process to the eight-year high school. My ...
Jane N.'s user avatar
  • 49
23 votes
6 answers
3k views

Should we stop teaching "interchange $x$ and $y$" when finding the inverse function?

In one textbook I use for College Algebra, the author teaches that one should interchange $x$ and $y$ when looking for inverse functions. For example, the inverse function of $$y=2x+2$$ is $$y=0.5x-1.$...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 4,265
8 votes
4 answers
509 views

How should I convince a student who proved $1=-1$

One of my high school students who has ZERO knowledge on complex numbers and the modulus function has showed me the following algebra: $$(16)^{\frac{1}{2}}=(16)^{\frac{2}{4}}=((16)^2)^{\frac{1}{4}}=...
Ekaveera Gouribhatla's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
408 views

Algebra/trig/precalculus review questions that elicit common student errors

This semester I have decided to give students a simple question or two at the beginning of every calculus class that will trap them into making the most common errors that we all know...e.g. the ...
Jon Bannon's user avatar
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13 votes
5 answers
471 views

How to read chained equalities out loud?

I find that my community-college students are usually very hazy on the status and meaning of chained equality statements (or other relational statements). This seems like a really critical element of ...
Daniel R. Collins's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
253 views

How should one approach the concept of "plus or minus", such as in the numerator of the quadratic formula?

The numerator is structured like: $$(-b)\pm\sqrt{b^2- 4ac}.$$ Is it confusing or acceptable to distinguish between the following two things? An idiom; and What is or seems to be a compositionally ...
ELM's user avatar
  • 352
3 votes
5 answers
426 views

Are degrees of polynomials illogically defined in elementary algebra, intermediate algebra and college algebra courses?

In most of books on elementary algebra, intermediate algebra and college algebra, the degree of the non-zero polynomial $$f(x)=a_nx^n+\cdots a_1x+a_0$$ with $a_n\neq 0$ is defined to be $n$. But I ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 4,265
2 votes
3 answers
251 views

Why not write “or” inequalities as $a>x>b$? [closed]

This seems like a stupid question . I just don’t understand why the algebra textbooks I see don’t really address this with students. I boy that I am tutoring brought it up and I was slightly ...
Eleven-Eleven's user avatar
11 votes
4 answers
773 views

Symmetry in polar functions - how to explain

In the precalculus curriculum I am teaching (using Stewart's book Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 7th ed.), we do a bit of polar graphing, which includes discussion of symmetry on polar graphs. ...
G Tony Jacobs's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
658 views

"Table" method for expanding brackets vs "each term in the first bracket gets multiplied by each term in the second bracket"

Hi I've just discovered mathseducators stackexchange. As a maths tutor in the UK, I am irritated that some of my students - particularly GCSE and sometimes below - use the table method for expanding ...
Adam Rubinson's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
142 views

Examples for environmental topics in the context of terms or linear inequalities

I want to emphasize the aspect of environmental education in my math class. Now I'm reasoning whether to do that with linear inequalities or terms with two variables - these are our next topics. The ...
Rico1990's user avatar
  • 325
9 votes
5 answers
928 views

Does anyone use the cubic formula these days?

I am writing a story for young people about the history of the development of the cubic formula and complex numbers, partly because it has so much drama and partly because it's amusing that complex ...
Sue VanHattum's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
2k views

High school maths textbook for talented students

I am looking for a math textbook. I'm 15 and I'd like to complete algebra 2 geometry and perhaps something about probability/ number theory or trigonometry would be nice too. Later I wanna do ...
kac3pro's user avatar
  • 29
10 votes
12 answers
9k views

A PEMDAS issue request for explanation

This question made the rounds recently - $8÷2(2+2)=?$ Now, I glanced at this, answered "1" and then saw the full article printed in the New York Times, The Math Equation That Tried to Stump the ...
JTP - Apologise to Monica's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
472 views

When (and why) did geometric means of more than two numbers exit the secondary curriculum?

In contemporary US secondary mathematics textbooks, geometric means occasionally make a brief appearance. For example: In Geometry, students learn that when an altitude is dropped to the hypotenuse ...
mweiss's user avatar
  • 17.3k
11 votes
8 answers
811 views

Different Kinds of Variables

Students sometimes ask whether the $x$ in the expression $$2x$$ the same kind of thing as the $x$ in the equation $$2x = 4.$$ In the expression $2x, \;x$ can be any real value. However, in the ...
Frasch's user avatar
  • 227
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

Real-life exceptions to PEMDAS?

What are some real-life exceptions to the PEMDAS rule? I am looking for examples from "real" mathematical language --- conventions that are held in modern mathematics practice, such as those appearing ...
Caleb Stanford's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
161 views

Explicit Cross Method

When factoring quadratic expressions $ax^2+bx+c$ it is common to the guess and check factors (AKA the cross method). This would involve factoring $a$ and $c$ and considering particular combinations ...
pdmclean's user avatar
  • 957
2 votes
3 answers
701 views

Why in the FOIL Method the terms are taken with their signs?

That was the most boring title I could choose but in all honesty, it is what the question is. Here is a reminder of the FOIL method that is used for multiplying two binomials. For example, to multiply ...
Amir Asghari's user avatar
  • 4,418
7 votes
3 answers
338 views

Complex numbers and encourage justification

In remedial algebra, we learn that the graph of $y=(\sqrt x)^2$ is only in the first quadrant. We know this is the correct graph for the equation. This is because we know $y=x$ and $x \ge 0$. However,...
user9054364's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
755 views

Integrated math curriculum in different countries

One of the selling points of re-hashed American 1990s high school math programs is that they are "integrated", that is, combine algebra, geometry, statistics, trigonometry just like the European ...
Rusty Core's user avatar
  • 1,318
3 votes
3 answers
235 views

How to explain to pupils that "$\frac n{100}$ OF $a$" is equivalent to "$a$ TIMES $\frac{n}{100}$"?

How to explain to pupils that "$\frac n{100}$ OF $a$" is equivalent to "$\frac{n}{100}\times a$"? There is some difficulty in explaining that the first sentence, containing "OF" (which could suggest ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
122 views

Classical references on equation solving

If I'm not in error, old style algebra books ( before 1945) concentrated on equation solving, and modern ones concentrate more on functions and their graphs ( as a preparation to calculus). Are there ...
user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
4k views

Where do students learn to solve polynomial equations these days?

When I was a math undergraduate 30 years ago in India, we were taught what was then called "classical algebra" (as opposed to abstract algebra), and we were taught among other things solving ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
174 views

Could this visual explanation of horizontal shift be helpful ? ...( if not beautiful...)

With the image below I try to explain in which way substituting (x-a) ( with a> 0) for x in the expression defining a function results in a shift to the right, although " intuition" tells us it ...
user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
380 views

What books properly address the properties of $a^b$?

Many students think $\sqrt{a} \sqrt{b}=\sqrt{a\ b}$ $\sqrt{a^2}=a$ $\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{a}}$ but none of the above are true when (a) and (b) are negative. To avoid such problems, ...
Ted Ersek's user avatar
  • 241
4 votes
0 answers
318 views

According to Nathan Jacobson, what is Intermediate Algebra and Advanced Algebra?

Nathan Jacobson's Basic Algebra I, II covers many topics in Algebra that is probably even beyond many pure mathematics full professor's scope of knowledge, unless the professor is specialised in ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 4,265
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

Are students majoring in pure mathematics expected to know classical results in mathematics very well by their graduation?

For example, I am confident that very few students majoring in pure mathematics can write a complete proof to the Abel–Ruffini theorem (there is no algebraic solution to general polynomial equations ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 4,265
7 votes
1 answer
397 views

"Indicated Arithmetic" or "Delayed Evaluation"

In the recent past, I've come across a pedagogical strategy for teaching/learning algebra that is sometimes called "Indicated Arithmetic" or "Delayed Evaluation". However, I've been unable to find any ...
Andrew Sanfratello's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
592 views

Teaching methods to make a weak student good at math? (particularly student from social science background)

I am currently teaching a high-school student, 1st grade Social Science. He is weak in mathematics. My initial strategy was to explain basic concept but with high repetitions, so that he can have a ...
Arief's user avatar
  • 191
20 votes
2 answers
2k views

Algebra 2 textbooks that incorrectly claim that all solutions of polynomial equations can be found

Over the years I have occasionally encountered a number of Algebra 2 textbooks that make an incorrect (or at very least extremely misleading) claim along the lines that "all solutions of a polynomial ...
mweiss's user avatar
  • 17.3k
5 votes
4 answers
575 views

Is This Trick Helpful?

I am no professional educator; I am a student myself! But apparently I come up with useful tricks that help my younger brother do better in maths. I just want to hear your feedback, is all. My younger ...
Mr Pie's user avatar
  • 159
2 votes
3 answers
630 views

Harnessing misuse of equals sign

Students often misuse the equals sign to indicate "I've done this operation" rather than the proper use indicating numerical equivalence. Eg. Tax is paid using the rule: \$3 572 plus 32.5c per \$1 ...
pdmclean's user avatar
  • 957
9 votes
5 answers
1k views

Motivation for polynomial long division

In the U.S. students in grades $\{9,10,11\}$ often learn long division of two polynomials, e.g.: $$ \frac{x^4 + 6x^2 + 2}{x^2 + 5} = x^2 + 1 - \frac{3}{x^2 + 5} \;. $$ I believe it is fair to say that ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
3k views

Good (natural) motivational examples for quadratic equations

I am looking for good motivational examples of how quadratic equations can naturally arise in real life for someone starting high school. The high school book my child is using just jumps into ...
John Smith's user avatar