Topic 12: Algebra – Sample Activity

A school admits students in S.1, S.2, S.3, S.4 and S.5 following the following guidelines: S.2 should have 5 students less than those in S.1 S.3 should have 15 students less than those in S.1. 1 S.4 should have of the students in S.1 2 1 S.5 should have of the students in S. 1. 4 During admission time, the headteacher doesn’t know exactly the number of students to admit for 5.5. The current school enrolment from S.1 to 5.4 is 680 students.

Task: Help the headteacher to find the number of students to admit for S.5. Why do you think less students are admitted in S.5 than in any other class?

Remember

Algebra helps you to summarise long statements into simple expressions for easy understanding.

Topic Summary

In this topic, you have learnt how to: use letters to represent numbers write statements in algebraic form simplifying algebraic expressions evaluate algebraic expressions by substituting numeri- values manipulate simple algebraic equations in one variable solve them