Simplifying Expressions and Solving Equations

Front

What is an expression in mathematics?

Back

An expression is a combination of numbers, variables, and operators (such as +, -, *, /) that represents a value.

Front

Define 'simplifying an expression'.

Back

Simplifying an expression means to reduce it to its simplest form by combining like terms and eliminating unnecessary parentheses.

Front

What does it mean to solve an equation?

Back

Solving an equation means finding the value(s) of the variable(s) that make the equation true.

Front

What is a variable in an equation?

Back

A variable is a symbol (usually a letter) that represents an unknown value in an equation.

Front

What is the difference between an expression and an equation?

Back

An expression does not have an equality sign and represents a value, while an equation states that two expressions are equal.

Front

What is the distributive property?

Back

The distributive property states that a(b + c) = ab + ac, meaning you can distribute a factor across a sum.

Front

How do you combine like terms?

Back

You combine like terms by adding or subtracting the coefficients of terms that have the same variable raised to the same power.

Front

What is the first step in solving the equation 2(x - 7) = 14?

Back

The first step is to apply the distributive property: 2x - 14 = 14.

Front

What does 'twice the difference' mean in mathematical terms?

Back

'Twice the difference' means to take the difference between two numbers and then multiply the result by 2.

Front

How would you express 'the difference between a number and 7'?

Back

It can be expressed as (x - 7), where x is the number.