Rautaki Taurangi - Algebraic Skills

The variables (letters) in an equation represent an unknown number. When we know new information about a variable, we can substitute (replace) the variable with that new bit of information. That information can be a number or another expression.

Just like how you might turn an object around in your hand to take a better look at it, we can more easily solve equations if we rearrange them the right way around. To do this, we need to learn a few rules for rearranging equations.

A big reason to do maths is to solve problems. We do this by solving equations. Rearrange the equation and substitute any given information to set up the equation to be solved.

Brackets are a way to group certain expression together and frequently show up in mathematical problems. Learning to expand brackets is a useful skill in solving many problems.

In contrast to expanding brackets, other mathematical problems require you to pack your equations back into brackets. We call this Factorising.