Study Link 6.11 Parent Help Information

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Parents,

At this point in the year we are beginning to expose the students to some pre-algerbra functions. As with me, many of you may recall not recieving this type of instruction until well into your Junior High School (Middle School) years. The philosophy behind Everyday Math is to expose students to some math that challenges them early on while utilizing the skills we are developing in class. This way students can see the application of the skills they are learning for the future (Did you ever say to yourself, "I'll never use this skill after this class"?).

Here's a cheat sheet to help you with your student's homework for pre-algerbra.

Order of Operations:

P = parenthesis
E = exponent
M = Multiply
B = Brackets
R = Reduce (Divide)
A = Add
S = Subtract.

Sample Problem:

9 + 5K = 45 + 2K

Go through PEMBRA. Ask yourself:

Do I have anything in parenthesis to work out? ANSWER: NO

Do I have any exponents to work out? ANSWER: NO

Do I have anything to multiply? ANSWER: NO

Do I have anything in brackets? ANSWER: NO

Do I have anything to reduce (divide)? ANSWER: NO, but you will need to come back and ask yourself this question again.

Do I have anything to add? ANSWER: NO

Do I have anything to subtract? ANSWER: YES

Now, the most important thing about pre-algerbra and algerbra is remembering when you do something to one side of an equation, you must do the same on the other. Let's look at our problem again.

9 + 5K = 45 + 2K

I want to solve for "K". To do that I must get all my "K's" to one side of the equation and all my "regular" number to the other side of the equation. Here's how I do that.

Let's start with our "regular" number (9 and 45). If I subtract 9 from the left side of my equation, I must do the same to the right side of the equation. Here's what that looks like:

9 - 9 + 5k = 45 - 9 + 2k

9 - 9 = 0, and 45 - 9 = 36

My problem will now look like this: 5K = 36 + 2K

Now I want to get all my "K's" to the left side of my equation. If I subtract 2K from the right side of my equation, I must do the same to the left side. Here's what that looks like:

5K - 2K = 36 + 2K - 2K

5K - 2K = 3K, and 2K - 2K= 0

My problem will now look like this:

3K = 36

Remember, I still want to figure out what "K" equals. To do that I will have to divide each side by the number 3.

This will look like the following:

3K / 3 = 36 / 3

3K / 3 = 1K (or simply just K)

36 / 3 = 12

So we can say :

K = 12

To check our answer, all we need to do is go back to our original problem and wherever we see a "K" put in the number 12:

9 + 5K = 45 + 2K

9 + 5(12) = 45 + 2(12)

9 + 60 = 45 + 24

69 = 69

As long as both sides come out equal, you know you've got the correct answer.

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