Basic Algebra

What this lesson covers

Basic Algebra is a 10-part Class 6 Mathematics lesson. Each part makes one point and then hands over to the next, so it can be read in a sitting or picked up again at the part you stopped on. It defines the idea in plain words before using it, works through an example step by step, breaks the topic into its parts and compares them, shows where it is used outside the textbook, names the mistakes that cost marks in an exam, ends with a recap of what to remember.

How it begins

In algebra a letter stands for a number you do not know yet. x + 5 = 12This says: "some number, plus 5, gives 12." Your job is to find it. Algebra is not a new kind of arithmetic. It is arithmetic with a gap in it, and a systematic way of filling the gap in.

The 10 parts

1. A letter is just an unknown number
2. The vocabulary
3. Collecting like terms
4. Solving by balancing
5. A two-step equation
6. Turning words into algebra
7. Where algebra earns its place
8. Where it usually goes wrong
9. What to remember
10. Watch one worked through