About this topic
Before you begin
Use letters to represent quantities, distinguish expressions from equations and solve by keeping both sides equal.
Learning goals
- Use a chosen letter for an unknown number
- Write an algebraic expression for an operation
- Interpret an algebraic operation and its operands
- Collect like terms in a linear expression without brackets
- Evaluate a linear expression by substitution
- Solve a linear equation with whole-number coefficients
Syllabus statements covered
- Using a letter to represent an unknown number
- Notation, representations and interpretation of simple algebraic expressions such as
- a ± 3
- a × 3 or 3a
- a ÷ 3 or a/3
- Simplifying simple linear expressions excluding brackets
- Evaluating simple linear expressions by substitution
- Simple linear equations involving whole number coefficient only
In this topic
Letters, expressions and equations
Distinguish an expression from an equation and undo operations while keeping equality.