Patterns: Written by tutor Jeff S.

Understanding the words group and pattern will help us understand Algebraic and Geometric patterns. A group is a number of things that we can see and touch that are related. They can be related based on any number of reasons. For example, the items may be in a group because they are the same color or size. Its important to remember that groups are made up of things we can touch and see. For example, we cant have a group of blue; it doesnt make sense! But, we can have a group of blue cars together in a parking lot. The word pattern describes groups of things with characteristics that repeat in a predictable way. For example, our brain uses patterns to help us quickly make sense of the world around us. Imagine being shocked each time you saw green grass in front a house in a suburban neighborhood! Our brain makes things easy by recognizing that (almost) all grass in front of suburban homes is green. Patterns help us to quickly learn new skills, too. Piano students soon learn to recognize the pattern of white and black keys on the keyboard. We can describe the pattern of the piano keys like this: white, black, white, black, white, black, white, white. We can also shorten this by using letters to represent each word: W, B, W, B, W, B, W, W. Another word for pattern is sequence. We will use both words to learn about Algebraic and Geometric patterns.

Algebraic Patterns
Algebraic patterns are number patterns with sequences based on addition or subtraction. In other words, we can use addition or subtraction to predict the next few numbers in the pattern, as long as two or more numbers are already given to us. Le ts look at an example: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ___, ___

We can use addition to figure out the next two numbers in this pattern. In the example, 1 + 2 = 3 and 2 + 3 = 5. We could say that the rule for this Algebraic pattern is "add the previous two numbers in the pattern together to find the next number."

So, we add 8 + 13 and get 21. Then, we add 13 + 21 and get 34. Our finished pattern looks like this:

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34. Exercise 1: Look at each number sequence below. Use the numbers given to find the next numbers in the sequences.

4, 8, _____, 16, 20, 24, ______. What numbers complete this pattern? (Separate the two numbers with a comma.)

{12, 28|12,28|12 28|1228|12 and 28} 47, 43, 40, 38, 37, 33, ______, _______. What numbers complete this pattern? (Separate the two numbers with a comma.)

{30, 28|30,28|30 28|3028|30 and 28}

Geometric Patterns
Geometric patterns are sequences of numbers with patterns that are based on multiplication and division. In other words, as long as we know two or more numbers in the pattern, we can use either multiplication or division to find missing numbers. Heres an example: 128, 64, 32, ___, ___. We know we will need to use division because the numbers get smaller as we read from left to right. Since the numbers are even, we begin by using the lowest even number (not including zero) we can think of - 2 - and dividing by that number to see if our answers match the numbers in the sequence. The problems look like this: 128/2 = 64 64/2 = 32 We found our rule! We divide by two to find the next number. When we divide 32 by 2 we get 16. When we divide 16 by 2 we get 8. Our answer would look like this: 128, 64, 32, 16, 8. What would we do if our answers didnt match? We would try dividing by another number - like 3 or 4 - until the answers matched the numbers in the pattern. Exercise 2. Look at each number sequence below. Use the numbers given to find the next number in the sequences.

___, 27, 81, 243, 729. What number completes this pattern?

{9|nine} 30, 15, 7.5, 3.75, ____. What number completes this pattern?

{1.875} Exercise 3. Look at the group of numbers below. Use what you have learned about patterns to determine whether the sequence of numbers is an Algebraic or Geometric pattern. Type your answer in the box below. Be careful! This is a tricky one!

12, ___, 72, 216, 432, 1296. What number completes this pattern? What kind of pattern is this (algebraic or geometric)? Separate your answers with a comma.

{36, geometric|geometric, 36|36 geometric|geometric 36}

Ratios and Proportions

Ratios and Proportions

Written by tutor Jeff S.

Ratios
We use Ratios to describe the relationship between two similar items. Heres an example of how they work: A middle school Science teacher decides to use M & Ms candy to help her class understand ratios. Students count 250 M & Ms (total) in a large bag of the candies. Next, students count the number of red M & Ms and find out there are 50 red M & Ms in the bag. Their teacher tells them that the ratio of red M & Ms to total M &Ms is 50 to 250. We can write this ratio three different ways:

50 to 250 50:250 50/250 One thing to remember about ratios is that we cannot compare different types of things using ratios. For example, we cannot use ratios to compare things like the number of M & Ms in a bag and the ounces of soda we drink in a day. This is because an ounce refers to a weight, which isnt the same as a simple count of the number of M & Ms in a bag. Another way to think of this is that you cant compare the ounces of M & Ms in a large bag of the candies to ounces of soda because soda is a liquid and M & Ms small solid candies. The first step to using ratios is to make sure the items youre comparing really are similar. Next, decide exactly what you w ant to compare. For example, do you want to know how many red M & Ms there are compared to green, or do you want to know how many red M & Ms there are compared to the total number in the bag?) Then, make the calculations needed to find the numbers for your ratio. Finally, choose one of the three methods above for writing ratios and write your numbers in ratio format.

Exercise 1: Read the following paragraphs. First, decide whether ratios can be used to compare the items. Then, type the ratio in the answer box below each item. A. Student council decides to compare the number of students who want to have a pizza party at the end of the semester with students who want to watch a movie and have popcorn instead. They ask all students to vote during homeroom to find out which they prefer. After counting the ballots, they find out that 156 students voted to have a pizza party and 210 students would rather watch a movie and have popcorn.

1. Can the student council use ratios to compare these two groups of students? (Answer yes or no)

{Yes|yes|YES} 2. If student council can use ratios to compare these two groups, how would they write their results?

{156:210|156 to 210|156to210|156/210|156 / 210|156 /210|156/ 210} B. Joey and his brother are arguing about who has had a worse week at school. Joey says that his week was the worst because he forgot to turn in his homework twice and his Math teacher gave him four (4) pages of extra homework today. His brother says that his week was worse because he was late to three (3) different classes and hell get detention if he is late to any of th em the rest of the semester.

1. Can Joey use ratios to explain why his week was worse than his brothers? Answer: (Answer yes or no)

{Yes|yes|YES} 2. If Joey can use ratios to prove he had a worse week, how would he write his answer? If he cant use ratios, leave blank.

{4:3|4 to 3|4to3|4/3|4 / 3|4 /3|4/ 3}

Proportions
Proportions are comparisons of two ratios. There are three ways to write proportions:

50:250 = 1:5 50/250 = 1/5

= We would say the above proportion this way: Fifty is to two -hundred and fifty as one is to five. This explains the relationship between the numbers in the two ratios we are comparing. We can also use an equation to find the fourth number in a proportion if we know the other three numbers. Lets use the equation to find one of the numbers in the proportion above and see if it works. Remember, in proportions, the following is true: a:b = c:d. This is another way to explain mathematically that the ratios in a proportion are equal and constant. The formula can be written this way: a = (b x c)/d and c = (a x d)/b b = (a x c)/d and d = (b x c)/a We can remember this equation with this sentence, The product of the means is equal to the product of the extremes. Heres how it works:

We cross multiply and get (a x d) = (b x c) a and d are the extremes and b and d are the means. Extreme means that these two numbers are the first and last numbers in the proportion. Written anoth er way, it looks like this: a:b = c:d. (The extremes are in red.) Mean means that the numbers are in the middle of the proportion if written in the same format: a: b = c:d. (The means are in red.) It might help you to remember this sentence by remembering that a mean is a type of average in a set of numbers, or number i n the middle of a set of numbers. Lets use our original proportion to see if this works. Here it is again:

Lets pretend we didnt know one of the terms in our proportion. Heres our problem:

Here, we used a to represent the number we dont know. First, we set up our equation: 250 x 1 = 50 x a

Then, we multiply both sides and solve:

250 = 50a Divide both sides by 50 to isolate the variable.

5 = a Our answer is 5 equals a. Our answer is 5 (which we already knew was correct)! Here are some practice problems. Use the formula, plug in the numbers, and solve the equation to find the unknown number.

What does a equal?

{60|sixty}

What does a equal?

{18|eighteen}

Representing Data:

Central Tendency - Which Measure is Best?

Written by tutor Yvonne W.

To understand a set of data, it is helpful to organize it and provide summary descriptions of the set. Central tendency measures are used to describe the middle value of a data set. There are (at least) three different ways to describe the middle value: mean, median and mode. Which method you use depends on the characteristics of the data set and how you plan to use the information. Let us explore this a bit more. Before we get started, please refer to Table 1 for a review of the definitions for mean, median and mode. Table 1 : Review of Central Tendency Measures

Data Set Weight in lbs. of bags of sand: 10, 8, 4, 9, 5, 5, 10, 3, 10, 2, 5

Measurement Definition
Sum of values

Example
71

Mean

/Total number of items in data set

/11 = 6.4545 lbs.

The middle value in a set when the numbers are arranged in order. Median If the set has an even number of items then the median is equal to 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 8, 9, 10, 10, 10 the mean of the middle two items.

The most frequently occurring value in the set. It is possible Mode to have no mode, one mode, or more than one mode. 5 lbs. and 10 lbs.

Criterion 1: Choice driven by intended use of measurement

Let's consider a candy shop that sells mints, chocolate and taffy. In this case, what you want to know about your sales will influence the measure you select to describe your data. For example, you would use the mode if you wanted to know the most popularly sold item. The mode is generally used to describe the most common or most popular item in the data set. You would also choose this measure if you wanted to know the maximum number of customers waiting for service per day or the day of the month where you had the most product become stale. The mean would be selected if you wanted to know how much money your shop collected per customer this week. The mean is used when you want to know the average value in a set of values. This number represents the value that will produce the lowest amount of error from all other values in the data set each time you take the measure, run the test or ask the question. Other examples for using the mean include the average number of boxes of chocolate sold each year around Val entines Day or the usual number of hours an employee works in the month of December. If you wanted to describe how much money a typical customer spent at the candy shop you would use the median. Median is chosen when you want to be sure that the number represents the midpoint in a list of values. This measure is used often in survey research. Lets say that you run a customer satisfaction survey to determine how successful you are in generating repeat busi ness. You already know that customers will return to your store if they rated your service at 4 or more out of 10 for total satisfaction. If you surveyed 10 customers, you would want to be sure that at least 50% of your customers gave you a rating of 4 or higher. To be sure that you have an accurate picture of customers opinions, you would want to know the median satisfaction rate of the customers surveyed.

Criterion 2: Choice driven by characteristics of the data collected

Characteristics of the data being measured will sometimes drive your choice of measurement. These characteristics are summarized in Table 2 below. Table 2 : Data Characteristics

Characteristic Definition

Examples

Number of coins in a purse (you can't have half a coin)

Describes data with a finite set of values Numerical discrete values This is data which can be counted.

Number of customers in a store (can't have half a person)

Values of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for a satisfaction survey (finite set of values)

or data which can only take certain values.

Number of putts it takes to score a hole-in-one (the possible values are infinite, but you can only putt 1 time or 2 times, etc.)

Describes any data that can take on any continuous value in a range. This is data that is measured.

Time to drive home Height of a tree A person's weight

Data is evenly (or almost evenly) Sample normal spread distribution Distribution looks like a bell curve. distributed about a central value.

Height of people SAT scores Annual average temperatures

Employees' salaries Opinion surveys Age distribution of respondents to a day-time residential phone survey

Data has more higher values than lower values or vice versa, more skewed spread lower values than higher values. Or the data can be mixed up.

Data where order has meaning, but ordinal the interval doesn't matter

Home values Eye color (brown, blue, green, etc.) Tastes (bitter, sweet, sour, salty, etc.) Finish positions in a race (doesn't matter if you are first "by a nose" or "distanced")

Data type

nominal

Categorical data

Your position in a line (wait time for each person can vary)

Ordinal data where the intervals interval between each value are equally split; zero does not mean none

Temperature (zero does not mean no temperature) Longitude and latitude

Interval data with zero ratio meaning none

Time Weight Distance

Mode
Mode is best used with categorical (nominal) or discrete data. It is difficult to use it with continuous data because often a single value is not repeated exactly. There often are one or two distinct favorites in categorical or discrete data. Mode has a drawback in that it may not be a measure of centrality if the most common item is away from the rest of the data set.

Mean
Measure is most often chosen when the data is continuous and symmetrical (normal). If the data has outliers or is skewed, then the mean would paint a skewed view of centrality. Mean should be used carefully with ordinal data. For instance, the mean placement of all the runners in an eight-person race will always be 4.5 and as such really does not deliver meaningful information. Mean is best used with interval data or ratio data. It is chosen when it is important to reduce the amount of error in a prediction.

Median
Median is especially useful with skewed distributions as it draws the line right in the middle of your data set. It provides a better measure of centrality as 50% of your data is above the median. Median can be used with interval or ratio data. Median is usually the preferred measurement to use with ordinal data.

Representing Data Practice Quiz

Problem 1: Use the data below to answer the following questions. During the past week the candy shop sold 25 boxes of chocolate, 18 boxes of mints and 40 boxes of taffy. There were five customersCustomer A spent $93, Customer B spent $152, Customer C spent $219, Customer D spent $108 and Customer E spent $123. What was the most popular item?

A.

Chocolate

B. C.

Mints Taffy

How much did a typical customer spend?

A. B. C.

$93 $123 $219

What was the average amount collected per customer?

A. B. C.

$93 $152 $139

Problem 2: Select the measure you would use to discover the most popular sandwich sold in your Broad Street store.

A. B. C.

Mean Median Mode

Problem 3: Use the data below to answer the following questions. There are 3 bags containing seven checks each. Bag A has $5, $10, $20, $20, $50, $50, $125 Bag B has $5, $10, $20, $20, $75, $75, $75 Bag C has $10, $10, $10, $50, $50, $50, $100 Choose the best bag using the mean, median or mode to make your choice. Which bag has the most total cash?

A. B.

Bag A Bag B

C. D.

Bag C All of the bags have the same total cash

If you removed the highest check from each bag and kept the remaining checks, which bag would have the most cash?

A. B. C. D.

Bag A Bag B Bag C All of the bags would still have the same total cash

Choices Mean of 6 Items

Bag A

$25.83

Bag B

$34.17

Bag C

$30

Critical Thinking: You can draw one bill from the bag of your choice to keep. Which bag would you choose to draw from? Depends on which measure you used. If you chose to use the mode, the answer is Bag B. This bag has more $75 checks than any other check in that bag. I am more likely to draw $75 than any other check value. For bag A, I would have an equal chance to draw a $20 or a $50 bill, both whose value is lower than the most frequently occurring bill in bag B. Likewise, for bag C, I would most likely draw a $10 or a $50 bill.

If you chose to use the median, the answer is Bag C because you would have a 50% chance of drawing a bill of $50 or more. Whereas, for bags A and B, you would have a 50% chance of drawing a bill of $20 or more. Bag C has more bills greater than $20 than either of the other two bags.

Scatterplots:

Scatterplots
Written by tutor Sarah C.

Scatterplots are special graphs showing the relationship, or correlation, between two different variables. Scatterplots are very similar to line graphs, except the data points shown are not necessarily spaced consistently and are not connected by a line. Consider the scatterplot shown below. What does it tell us?

This scatterplot shows the relationship between two variables, or factors: height and shoe size. There is not a perfect relationship between the two variables, which means we are unable to predict with certainty a persons shoe size from simply knowing his o r her weight. Lets consider a specific portion of the scatterplot: heights that related to size 5 shoes. Individuals of three d ifferent heights (54, 56, and 57 inches) each wear size 5 shoes. If we look even closer, we can see that second person with a height of 57 inches wears size 6 shoes instead of size 5 shoes. This highlights, again our inability to use a scatterplot to form a definite prediction for the value of one variable based on the value of another. So, if we cannot use scatterplots to predict specific outcome values, what is the benefit of using a scatterplot? Lets look a little bit closer at the entire scatterplot. We have already discussed that a range of heights are related to wearing size 5 shoes. Does this hold true in all sizes? Look closely at shoe sizes 6, 7.5, and 8. In all shoe sizes, we see that shoe size is related to a variation in height. Now, lets broaden our focus to look at the entire scatterplot. Do you see any trends? Is there an overall relationship betwe en height and shoe size? Yes! When we look at the entire graph, we can see that as height increases, shoe size generally increases as well. Does this information fit with your existing knowledge of height and shoe size? Sure it does!

By simply looking at one example scatterplot, we have learned that scatterplots can help us identify the relationship between two variables.

Scatterplots Practice Quiz

True or false: Scatterplots allow you to accurately predict the value of one variable from another.

A. B.

True False

True or false: The points on a scatterplot should be connected by lines.

A. B.

True False

Simple Probability
Written by tutor Jeff S.

Probability shows us mathematically how likely we are to get a certain result for an activity with predictable outcomes. Another way to think of a result is to think of the word outcome. For example, there are two possible results from flipping a coin: heads or tails. Coin flips have predictable outcomes because outside factors dont effect coin tosses. On the other hand, sports events may seem predictable, but are actually more complex when you think about it. Of course, one team will score more points and win the game and the other will score fewer points and lose. However, many factors affect the outcome of the game making it unpredictable. Will the starting pitcher hurt his arm, or will he be able to play? If he plays, is he well - rested and ready to play his best today, or did something keep him awake, which will hurt his performance? These are just a few of the hundreds of things that can affect the outcome of a baseball game. We need to consider two things when calculating the probability of an event: the total number of outcomes and the number of ways we can achieve the desired result. Heres an example: Imagine we want to know the probability of getting heads when we flip a coin. There are two possible outcomes: heads or tails. We use this knowledge to write the probability of getting heads as a fraction:

/2

* The top number shows how many ways we can arrive at our outcome (getting heads when we flip a coin). *The bottom number shows us the total possible number of outcomes.) In this case, we can only get two outcomes (getting heads or tails).

One thing to remember is that probability doesnt tell us the exact outcome well get. We might get tails five times in a row. Instead, probability tells us which outcome we can reasonably expect. Heres another example. What if our question was, What is the probability of rolling a 6 on a 6 sided die? Since rolling dice has a predictable outcome we know well roll a number between 1 and 6 we can use probability. Our answer is:
1

/6

If we roll one die, theres only one way to get a six: the six lands face up. We put the number 1 on top of the proportion to represent the one way we can get a six if we roll a die. The total possible number of outcomes is 6 because the die can land on any number from 1 to 6.

Probability of Dependent Events

Dependent events are situations where the outcome we get can changes depending on the event that came before it. For example, suppose we want to know the probability of drawing an ace from a deck of cards. Since the total number of cards in the deck gets lower each time we draw a card, the probability of drawing an ace will change, too. Heres how it works: Since we start with a deck of 52 cards, the probability of drawing an ace is 4/52. There are 4 aces in the deck of 52 cards. If we draw an ace, our probability of drawing another ace is 3/51. There are 3 aces left in the deck of 51 cards. If we didnt draw an ace, the probability of drawing an ace becomes 4/51. There are still 4 aces left in the deck of 51 cards. We can use division and multiplication to turn proportions from fractions to decimals and converting them into percentages. Percentages make proportions easier to understand. For example, if we divide 4 by 51, we get .07. We can multiply this by 100 to turn it into a percentage. When we do this we get 7%. Now we see that there is a 7% chance that we will draw an ace from the deck of cards if we dont draw an ace on our first try. This is an example of the probability of dependent events drawing an ace from a deck of cards in our example. Exercise 1. Read the sentences below and answer the questions that follow using what you know about dependent probabilities.

Camilas 8th birthday is in three weeks and her parents have decided to have a birthday party at their house. They are planning to have games at the party. They bought small bags of party favors to put into a prize bag. Camila and her friends will reach into the bag and take out a prize if they come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. There are 15 pairs of sunglasses, 15 animal shaped rubber ink stampers, and 15 small bottles of liquid bubbles in the prize bag.

A. What is the probability that the first person to draw from the bag will pull out a pair of sunglasses? Type your answer as a fraction or a percent in the box below.

{15/45|1/3|33%|33} What is the probability that the first person will draw either a rubber ink stamper or a bottle of liquid bubbles? Type your answer as a fraction or a percent in the box below.

{30/45|2/3|66%|66}

Probability Tree Diagrams

Besides using percentages, we can also use tree diagrams to help us understand the probability of dependent events. Read the paragraph below to learn how tree diagrams can help us understand proportions. Imagine that you recently started working part - time at a movie theater. Two managers, Darrell and Samantha, are the supervisors on the shifts you work. Both managers occasionally give employees a free movie ticket after their shift. You really like working with Samantha because she gave you two movie tickets the last 4 times youve worked for her. Darrell has only given you 1 free ticket the last four times he was your supervisor. When you checked the work schedule, you noticed that Samantha works 3 days a week and Darrell works 4. What is the probability that you will get a free movie ticket after your shift if you work 7 days a week? Tree diagrams help us better understand our chances of getting a free movie ticket. Heres how to create the diagram: Step 1. Compute the percentage of days each manager works per week and start your diagram. To do this, divide the number of days each manager works per week by the total number of days in a week (7).

Step 2. Compute the probability for each managers answer to the question, Can I have a movie ticket after todays shift? (they can answer yes or no). To do this, divide the number of times each manager has given each answer by the number of days you have worked with them (4). Add this information to your diagram. The diagram looks like this:

Step 3. Multiply across each row to find the probability for each answer and multiply by 100 to turn it into a percentage. Heres what the problems look like: (the final percentages are in bold). Samantha, Yes = .43 x .50 = .215 .215 x 100 = 21.5% No = .43 x .50 = .215 .215 x 100 = 21.5% Darrell, Yes = .57 x .25 = .142 .142 x 100 = 14.2% No = .57 x .75 = .428 .428 x 100 = 42.8% When we use a tree diagram, we can see our probabilities much easier. To find the answer to our question, What is the probability that you will get a free movie ticket after your shift?, we add the yes percentages together. The problem looks like this:

21.5 + 14.2 = 35.7% We can see that we have a 35.7% chance of getting a free movie ticket after our shift if we work part time 7 days a week. Remember that probability tells us how likely we are to get a certain result. It doesnt tell us exactly what will happen. We might actually get a free ticket 5 days in a row! Or, we might not get a free ticket for a week. Probability simply helps us predict what will happen. Exercise 2. Use the tree diagram above to find the answers to the problems.

A. Imagine that you are working part time for 5 days a week instead of 7. Samantha is your supervisor on 3 of the days and Darrell is your supervisor the other 2. Samantha has given you a free ticket on 2 of the 3 days. Darrell has given you 1 free ticket the last 2 days you worked with him. What are the probabilities for your supervisors yes and no answers if asked for a f ree ticket now? Convert your answers into percentages and type them in the box below. (Separate your answers with a comma.)

Samantha Yes 3/5 = .60 2/3 = .66 .60 x .66 = .396

.396 x 100 = 39.6%

Samantha No 3/5 = .60 1/3 = .333 .60 x .333 = .1998 .1998 x 100 = 19.98%

Darrell

Yes 2/5 = .40 1/2 = .50 .40 x .50 = .200

.200 x 100 = 20.0%

Darrell

No 2/5 = .40 1/2 = .50 .40 x .50 = .200

.200 x 100 = 20.0%

{39.6,19.98,20,20|39.6, 19.98, 20, 20|40,20,20,20|40, 20, 20, 20|39.6%,19.98%,20%,20%|39.6%, 19.98%, 20%, 20%|40%,20%,20%,20%|40%, 20%, 20%, 20%} B. Imagine you wanted to increase your chances of getting a free ticket by working with Samantha 4 out of your 5 days. Now you are working with Samantha 4 days and only 1 with Darrell. Samantha gave you a free ticket 2 of the 4 days and Darrell did not give you a ticket the last time you worked with him. What are the probabilities for your supervisors yes and no answers now? Convert your answers into percentages and type them in the box below. (Separate your answers with a comma.)

Samantha Yes 4/5 = .80 2/4 = .50 .80 x .50 = .40 .40 x 100 = 40%

Samantha No 4/5 = .80 2/4 = .50 .80 x .50 = .40 .40 x 100 = 40%

Darrell

Yes 1/5 = .20 0/1 = 0

.20 x 0 = 0

0 x 100 = 0%

Darrell

No 1/5 = .40 1/1 = 1.0 .20 x 1 = .20

.20 x 100 = 20%

{40,40,0,20|40, 40, 0, 20|40%,40%,0%,20%|40%, 40%, 0%, 20%}

Unit Rates
Written by tutor Steve C.

Wed like to simplify TWO issues with ONE idea.

In the top rated TV show, NCIS, what do they do when they have no evidence? They FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Basically, if Fred dies & Sue makes lots of money, then Sue is gonna need a good alibi. So, lets tweak FOLLOW THE MONEY And turn it into FOLLOW THE UNITS. This will be our new rule Lets consider the frequently dreaded Rate - Distance Time problems (or RDT problems).

Some teachers try to have students memorize codes. A common one is DIRT where D = RT. The problem with memorizing is sometimes, you can forget. They might recall DR = T or D = R/T, both of which are incorrect. So, lets get down to basics and consider the new rule: FOLLOW THE UNITS When you think about Rate, what is a Rate? Somebody says that theyre going 65 down the highway. The question is, 65 what?

Well, the answer is 65 miles per hour, or 65 mph. Every 7 yr old who watches TV or rides with their folks knows that. So ... Consider Rate Distance Time problems.

If 65 miles per hour is the Rate... Then, what is miles? The Distance. Then, what is hour? The Time.

Therefore, by definition, since Rate = miles / hours Then Rate = Distance / Time This was not from Memory. Whatd we do to get there? FOLLOW THE UNITS So, if R = D/T We can solve simple RDT problems, like

What the rate if you go 200 miles in 4 hours? R = D/T R = 200/4 R = 50 mph

Likewise, if you invoke the Downstairs Swap, you can turn R = Dist/Time into T = Dist/Rate

What's the time if you go 200 miles at 50 mph? T = D/R T = 200/50 T = 4 hours This was not from a memorized equation. This results when you FOLLOW THE UNITS You can confirm this with the well known DIRT equation (if you really want to use a memorized equation.) Whats the distance if you go 50 mph for 4 hours? D = RT D = (50)4 D = 200 miles

This was not from a memorized equation. This was from basics: the definition of a Rate, which we all learned when we were 7 yrs old.

This set of equations are the result when you

FOLLOW THE UNITS So, thats the first issue.

Now, for the second issue: What happens if you need to convert a value, but you dont have an internet converter handy? Something like mph into ft/sec; How do you do it?

FOLLOW THE UNITS Lets review two basic foundation 1 facts in Math: theory Anything times 1 is that thing. (A)(1) = A

Anything over itself = 1 A/A=1 Therefore... If 12in = 1 ft, then 1 = 1 ft/12 in 1 = 12 in/1 ft

and

How to know which fraction to use in any conversion? FOLLOW THE UNITS If we multiply If we multiply
mi mi

/hr(ft/mi), we get ft/hr /hr(hr/s), we get mi/s

So what is 60 mph in ft/s? 60 mi/hr(5280 ft/mi)(1 hr/3600 s 60 mi/hr(5280/3600) 60 mi/hr = 88 ft/s This will work with any complex unit conversion with basic "1" facts. Just another examplpe of using the definitions and the new rule.

FOLLOW THE UNITS.

Estimation
Written by tutor Jeff S.
When we estimate, were making an educated guess. Were using what we already know to make decisions about our data. We estimate the answers to Math problems when our answers dont have to be exact. For example, if you want to download mp3 songs from the Internet, you may need to purchase a gift card and add the points to your account before buying the music. If you want to buy six songs and each song costs between $.99 and $1.29 each, you can estimate the total cost of the songs to predict about how much money youll need. This situation is an example of making an educated guess. You used what you already knew about the cost of the songs to guess the total cost so you could purchase the gift card. Estimating the cost helps you buy a gift card with enough money on it to pay for the downloads without leaving too much extra money in your account. In order to estimate, we need to know how to round numbers. Below is an explanation of how to round numbers using the Common Method.

Rounding
When we round numbers, we either increase a number by 1 or leave it the same to make mental math easier. It also helps us to make some numbers easier to understand when were comparing sets of numbers. One important thing to remember is that when we round numbers, our answers will not be as accurate as they would have if we had kept our original numbers. Heres how the Common Method of rounding works: Step 1. Decide what number you want to keep. For example, if we want to know how many books we can buy for $15 or less and were comparing the prices of three books whose costs are $5.99, $4.98, and $7.99, we might decide to round to the nearest dollar. In that case, well keep the 5, 4, and 7. Step 2. Look at the number to the right of the number you decided to keep. If the number is a 5 or above, round the number youre keeping up by adding 1. If the number is a 4 or less, round the number by keeping it the same. In our book example, we round the prices to $6.00, $5.00, and $8.00 because the numbers to the right of the numbers we want to keep are above 5. That means we can buy the $6.00 and $5.00 books for under $15.00. We round numbers when we estimate just like in our book example above. We wanted to know which books we could buy for less than $15, but we didnt need to know the exact total cost. Estimation was close enough to give us the information we needed.

Estimation also helps us check our answers in Math. For example, if we add 1,540 to 575, we can round these two numbers to make checking our work easier. We could round the first number to 1,550 and the second to 580. These numbers are easier to add in our heads. When we add these numbers we get 2,130. If the answer we have is 2,800, we know weve gone wrong somewhere and we need to find our mistake. You can also estimate decimal numbers. Use the two step Common Method of rounding. Decide what place (example: tenths, hundredths, etc.) you want to round your number to and use the number to the right of it and round up by adding 1 or round down by keeping it the same. Here are some examples of rounding to different decimal places (the number we need to round is in blue):

Number

Estimate

26.367

round it to the tenths place. . .

26.4

510.548 round it to the hundredths place. . .

510.55

49.6322 round it to the thousandths place. . .

49.632

Exercise 1. Use the Common Method to round each of the blue numbers below. Type your answer in the space given.

356

{360} 2,758

{2800|2,800} 542

{500} Exercise 2. Read the situations below. Then, decide whether we can use estimation. Type yes in the box if we can estimate. Type no in the box if we cant. Remember, when we estimate, our answers will not be as accurate as if wed used the exact numbers.

Imagine that a small bag of flour holds 12 1/2 cups of flour. Two days ago, we used 4 cups of flour to bake bread. This weekend we are going to bake 3 cakes for next week's school bake sale. It takes 2 cups of flour to bake each cake. Can we use estimation to decide whether or not we need to buy more flour before this weekend?

{yes|Yes|YES} Imagine that a local college is having a concert in their 3,000 - seat auditorium. Ticket sales are better than expected. The college's president has asked the auditorium manager for a ticket sales report. The college's board of directors is considering an advertisement that there are 100 "reserved" tickets still available for large groups to purchase. Can the auditorium manager estimate how many "reserved" tickets are left in the report?

{no|No|NO}

What is an Integer?
Written by tutor Nikita K.
Integers are negative or positive whole numbers that do not include fractions or decimals. Integers include natural numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, ...) and negative counting numbers (-1, -2, -3, ...). Examples of integers: -50, -22, -1, 0, 5, 11, 168 Which of the following is an integer?

A. B. C. D. E.

-65/4 -5.2 0 1.6

50

/3

Which of the following is not an integer?

A.

-36/3

B. C. D. E.

-12.6 2
12

/4

100

Introduction to Exponents
Written by tutor April G.

The Basics
Exponents are shorthand for repeated multiplication, just like multiplication is a shortened form of repeated addition. 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 210 = 20 a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a = a10 = 10a A much easier improvement, right? We do something similar in multiplication using exponents. In mathematics, we use superscripts to represent the number of times the number is multiplied by itself. These superscripts are the exponents. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 = 2 10 = 1,024 a a a a a a a a a a = a10 Exponents shorten writing out long strings of repeated multiplication. For example, 3223322 = 2222333 = 2433. Note: You might also see exponents written out this way: a^10. This is commonly used on computers because it's easier to type. Now for the technical math stuff. In the expression an, we are saying that a is being multiplied by itself n number of times. We call a the base, and n is the exponent. The expression an is called a power, and is read as, "a raised to the power of n" or "a to the nth power." In my above example of 210, 2 is the base, 10 is the exponent (the number of times 2 is multiplied by itself), and we read it as "2 raised to the 10th power." Because 210 = 1024, 1024 is a power of 2.

Some powers are special because they come up quite frequently. a2 can also be read as "a-squared," and a3 as "a-cubed." Also, a1 = a (which is pretty boring, but still important to know!).

Evaluating Basics
Powers are included in the order of operations. (PEMDAS) - Parenthesis, Exponents, Division/Multiplication, Addition/Subtraction. Exponents are pretty high up on the list! Example: What is the value of 32 + 54? First evaluate 32 = 9 and 54 = 625. Then, add them together, and the result is 634. Example: What is the value of -1 25? First, evaluate 25 = 32. Then, multiply -1 and 32, and you get a result of -32. In some cases, you need to plug in values for variables to evaluate. Example: Evaluate ab2 for a = 3 and b = 5. Its very important to note that this means a b2. Some students get confused and think that a and b need to be multiplied first, and then square the result. If we were to do that, the problem would be written as (ab)2 instead. According to the order of operations, first the b must be squared, and then the result multiplied by a. When we substitute the values, we get 3 52 = 3 25 = 75. The other way, (ab)2, would be (35)2 = (15)2 = 225. Pay extra attention to how the problem is written and follow the order of operations.

Negative Bases
Things get a little tricky when you throw negatives into the mix. For (-2)2, when we write out the multiplication we have (-2) (-2) = 4. (Remember that when you multiply 2 negatives, you get a positive product, and when you multiply a positive and a negative you get a negative product.) What happens for (-2)3? You would get (-2) (-2) (-2) = 4 (-2) = -8. What about (-2)4? (-2)5? You'll find that when the base is negative and the exponent is an even number, the result is positive. If the base is negative and the exponent is an odd number, the result is negative. Why did I use parentheses around the -2? Couldn't you just write -23? -24? Take for example (-2)4 versus -24. Using our definition of exponents, (-2)4 = 16. For -24, because there are no exponents around the (-2), we are actually saying the same thing as "the opposite of 24". (Just like -3 is the opposite of 3.) Because 24 = 16, then -24 ("the opposite of 24") = -16. Those parentheses become crucial to properly evaluating exponents with negatives! For this reason, I suggest using parentheses when plugging in values to evaluate to eliminate the confusion.

Negative and Zero Exponents

What about negative exponents? Can zero be an exponent? First, yes, zero can be an exponent, and it's a little weird. When the exponent is zero (as in 20), the result is 1. Any base (except zero) with a zero exponent is equal to 1. 20 = 1, b0 = 1, 19298430 = 1. (00 is very bizarre and we say the result is indeterminate.)

What about negative exponents? If we looked at the negative as meaning "opposite", and the exponent means repeating a multiplication, then we can ask, "What is the opposite of multiplication?" Division! Having a negative exponent means how many times we divide one by that number. Example: 5-1 = 1 5 = 0.2 Example: 5-3 = 1 5 5 5 = 0.008 An easier way of evaluating 5-3 would be 5-3 = 1 (555) = 1/53 = 1/125 = 0.008. In general, a-n = 1/an. So for 4-2, we can say 42

= 1/42 = 1/16 = 0.0625.

Summary
When evaluating expressions with exponents, there are some important points to remember:

Follow the order of operations and watch out for common traps. Remember that exponents are shorthand for repeated multiplication. 2 3 is not the same as 23! It means 222. Be careful evaluating exponents with negative bases. Use parenthesis when necessary to help you remember. Negative exponents are the same as repeated division of one by a number, or you can use the easy shortcut to evaluate them faster.

Negative exponents don't make a number negative! 2-3 = 1/23 = 1/8 = 0.125, not -8!

Exponents Practice Quiz

What is the value of 63?

{216} What is the value of -34?

{-81} What is the value of (-4)2?

{16} What is the value of 52 + 62?

{61} What is the value of 40 - 33?

{-26} What is the value of (2 + 5)2?

{49} Write 555555 using exponents. (Use a caret, ^, to indicate an exponent)

{5^6} Write 2232223 using exponents. (Use a caret, ^, to indicate an exponent)

{2^5 3^2|2^53^2|3^2 2^5|3^22^5} What is the value of 2-5?

{1/32|.0313|0.0313|1/2^5} What is the value of 3104?

{30000}

Introduction to Square Roots

Written by tutor April G.

A square root is a number a such that for a number b, b 2 = a. In other words, a number b whose square is a. Another way to say this is that a square root of a number is one of its two equal factors. For example, 32 = 3*3 = 9 3 is considered a square root of 9, because when 3 is multiplied by itself it equals 9. We write this as 9 = 3 -3 is ALSO considered a square root of 9 because (-3)*(-3) = 9. Therefore, 9 = -3 as well. Because of this, every non-negative real number has 2 square roots, a positive (or principal) square root and a negative square root. To eliminate confusion, generally we write a negative sign to specify the negative root and either a positive sign (or no sign) when talking about the positive root. If we want to talk about both roots of a number a, we would write a. (By the way, that symbol is called a radical. You'll learn in later math more about radicals, but for now we're just going to talk about square roots.) You'll note I said non-negative real number. There's no such real number, for example, of the square root of -9 (-9). It makes sense if you think about it: you always get a positive number when you multiply two numbers with the same sign. 3*3 = 9 and (3) * (-3) = 9, but neither gives you a negative 9! In fact, we call the square root of a negative number an imaginary number, which is used when talking about complex numbers. But that's a topic for another day. For now, just remember that you can't take the square root of a negative number.

4 OK!

-4 NOT OK!

Here are some common square roots.

12 = 1 22 = 4 32 = 9 42 = 16 52 = 25 62 = 36

1 = 1 4 = 2 9 = 3 16 = 4 25 = 5 36 = 6

Numbers like 1, 4, 9, 16, etc, are called perfect squares because they are the squares of integers. The numbers in-between, like 15 or 27, are not perfect squares. Square roots of these numbers are called irrational numbers. If you use a calculator to find 15, for

example, will give you 3.872983346207417.... You can also find square roots of fractions. For example, because 2/3 x 2/3 = 4/9, 2/3 is a square root of 4/9. An easy way of looking at this is looking at the square roots of the numerator and denominator separately. Example: Find 25/36. Solution: Because the square root of 25 is 5, and teh square root of 36 is 6, then the square root of 25/36 =
5

/6.

It's important to know the difference between the questions "What is the square of ____?" and "What is the square root of ____?" In one case you are taking the number and multiplying it by itself, and in the other you are finding the number's square root.

The question

What the question is asking you to do

What is the square of ___?

Multiply ____ by itself

What is the square root of ___? Examples:

Find a number that equals ___ when multiplied by itself

Question:

What is the square of 7?

What do I do?

Multiply 7 by itself 72 = 7*7 = 49

The math:

The answer:

49

Question:

What is the square root of 25?

What do I do?

Find a number that equals 25 when multiplied by itself.

25 = WHAT times WHAT The math: 25 = 5 times 5

The answer:

Question:

16 = ?

What do I do?

Find a number that equals 16 when multiplied by itself.

16 = WHAT times WHAT The math: 16 = 4 times 4

The answer:

Finally, when evaluating expressions with square roots, treat the radical the same way you would treat parenthesis. So to evaluate 5 + 4 -1, first you would add under the radical (5+4=9), then evaluate the radical (9 = 3), and finally subtract 1 to get 2.

Square Roots Practice Quiz

Here are some additional examples to try. If there is no possible answer, simply type "no answer". 81

{9} -16 =

{no answer} -225 =

{-15} 121/64 = (write your answer as a fraction using the division bar, / )

{11/8} 32 + 42 =

Isolating X
Written by tutor Steve C.

Algebra is all about solving for X (and Y, and Z, but we start with only X). Pre-algebra is about learning manipulations so we can find and isolate X. Cross multiplication is a way of manipulating terms to get X here and everything else there. That can basically be called Isolating X; putting it on one side, so only numbers are on the other side. There are several next steps after cross multiplication, some more obvious than others. The downstairs swap is simply a t ool that replaces cross multiplication. It eliminates the mechanics of that cross step, as well as several subsequent steps. It can be derived and/or proven with cross multiplication, but thats not what you need here.

There are several ways to solve a problem. All of them involve isolating X. There are several ways to manipulate numbers so that you can isolate X. Cross Multiplication is one way to do so, when you have 4 terms to deal with. The Down Stairs Swap is one way to do so, when you have 3 terms to deal with.

The bottom line is: get X on one side of the equation, and get everything else on the other side.

Down Stairs Swap

Lets review a well known concept... CROSS MULTIPLY And its less well known cousin... DOWN STAIRS SWAP We all know about Cross Multiplication: When A/B = C/D, then AD = BC But what happens when D = 1 ? Then you get A/B = C Multiply by B and you get A = CB Divide by C and you get A/C = B Lets consider these two equations: C = A/B B = A/C

Whenever you have a solo term on one side, and terms upstairs and downstairs on the other side,

then you can swap the solo term with the downstairs.

Thats the Downstairs Swap. (Of course, this presumes that nothing downstairs is zero. However, if it is, then the initial Cross Multiplication wont wor k, either.)

We can find several uses for this simple trick. Learn how to apply it to unit rates.