Algebraic techniques
1. Francine earns $p per week for her job. She works 48 weeks each year. Write an expression for the
amount she earns:
a in a fortnight
b in 1 year
c in 1 year if her wage is increased by $20 per week after she has already worked 30 weeks in the
Year
2. Jon likes to purchase DVDs of some TV shows. One show, Numbers, costs $a per season, and
another show, Proof by Induction, costs $b per season. Write an expression for the cost of:
a four seasons of Numbers
b seven seasons of Proof by Induction
c all seven seasons of each show, if the original price is halved when purchased in a sale
3. Evaluate x2 for the following values of x . Recall that (−3)2 = −3 * −3 .
i 3 ii −3 iii 7 iv −7
a. Given that 252 = 625 , what is the value of (−25)2 ?
b. Explain why the square of a number is the square of its negative.
4. Simplify
a. 6(10 − 6j) + 4(10j − 5)
b. −7k(r + m + s)
c. 8(5 + 10g) + 3(4 − 4g)
3x x−1
d. +
8 4
2x−1 3x+2
e. –
7 5
5. Factorise.
a. 14jn + 10n
b. 21hm − 9mx
c. −3x – 6
d. x2 + 6x
5q−15
e. 3q−9
100−10x
f. 20−2x
6. Pens cost $3 each.
a Write an expression for the total cost of n pens.
b If n = 12, find the total cost.
Equations
1. If a = 3, state whether the following is true or false.
2a + 4 = 12
4a − 3 = 9
2. Write equations for each of the following problems. You do not need to solve the equations.
a A number x is doubled and then 7 is added. The result is 10 .
b The sum of x and half of x is 12 .
c Aston’s age is a . His father, who is 25 years older, is twice as old as Aston.
d Fel’s height is h cm and her brother Pat is 30 cm taller. Pat’s height is 147 cm .
e Coffee costs $c per cup and tea costs $t . Four cups of coffee and three cups of tea cost a total of $21 .
f Chairs cost $c each. To purchase eight chairs and a $2000 table costs a total of $3600 .
3. Emily’s age in 10 years’ time will be triple her current age.
She is currently E years old.
a Write an equation involving E to describe this situation.
b Find a solution to this equation.
c How old is Emily now?
d How many years will she have to wait until she is four times her current age?
4. Solve.
a. 5 + 9h = 32
b. −44 = 10w + 6
c. 13 = −3b + 4
d. −22 = 14 − 9b
e. 14 ∗ (4x + 2) = 140
x
f. −4=7
2
t−8
g. = −10
2
5j+6
h. =2
8
4r
i. 9– =5
7
3 +13b
j. 20 = −7
6x 2x
k. + = 28
5 3
l. 7s + 7 = 19 + 3s
m. 7z − 1 = 8z – 4
n. 37 − 4j = 7 − 10j
o. −2(4u − 5) = 34
p. −6 = −3(2d − 4)
q. 5(4x − 4) = 5(3x + 3)
r. 4(4y + 5) − 4 = 6(3y − 3) + 20
s. 3(4h + 5) + 2 = 14 + 3(5h − 2)
5. For the following puzzles, write an equation and solve it to find the unknown number.
a A number x is divided by 5 and the result is 7 .
b Half of y is −12 .
c A number p is doubled and then divided by 7 . The result is 4 .
d Four is added to x . This is halved to get a result of 10 .
e x is halved and then 4 is added to get a result of 10 .
f A number k is doubled and then 6 is added. This result is halved to obtain −10 .
6. At a news agency, Preeta bought four pens and a $1.50 newspaper, while her husband Levy bought
two pens and a $4.90 magazine. To their surprise the cost was the same.
a Write an equation to describe this, using p for the cost of a single pen.
b Solve the equation to find the cost of a pen.
c If Fred has a $20 note, what is the maximum number of pens that he can purchase?
7. A combination of six chairs and a table costs $3000. The table alone costs $1740.
a Define a pronumeral for the cost of one chair.
b Write an equation to describe the problem.
c Solve the equation systematically.
d Hence, state the cost of one chair.
