Vocabulary Definitions
A letter or symbol used to represent an unknown or changing number.
What is a variable?
The number that multiplies a variable, such as the 6 in 6x
What is a coefficient?
In the expression 7x+4, identify the coefficient.
What is 7?
Which one has an equal sign: an expression or an equation?
What is an equation?
In the expression 7x+4, identify the coefficient.
What is 7?
A number that does not change and does not have a variable attached to it.
What is a constant?
A mathematical phrase made of numbers, variables, and operation symbols but without an equal sign.
What is an algebraic expression?
In the expression 5y−9, identify the constant.
What is -9?
Explain the difference between a variable and a constant.
A variable can change or represent an unknown value, while a constant has a fixed value.
Use the distributive property to simplify 3(x+4).
What is 3x+12?
A number, variable, or product of numbers and variables separated by addition or subtraction signs.
What is a term?
Terms that contain the same variable raised to the same power, such as 4x and 9x.
What are like terms?
How many terms are in the expression 4x+3y−8?
What are three terms?
Explain the difference between evaluating and simplifying an expression.
Evaluating means finding the value after substituting a number for the variable. Simplifying means rewriting the expression in a simpler but equivalent form.
Solve x+8=15 using an inverse operation.
What is x=7?
A mathematical sentence showing that two expressions are equal.
What is an equation?
Two expressions that have the same value even though they may look different.
What are equivalent expressions?
Simplify 3x+5+2x−1
What is 5x+4?
Explain the difference between an equation and an inequality.
An equation shows that two expressions are equal, while an inequality compares expressions that may not be equal.
Solve 5x=30 using the multiplication property of equality or an inverse operation.
What is x=6?
A mathematical sentence that compares two expressions using symbols such as <, >, ≤, or ≥.
What is an inequality?
Operations that undo one another, such as addition and subtraction or multiplication and division.
What are inverse operations?
Evaluate 2x+7 when x=4.
What is 15?
Explain the difference between an ordered pair and a point on the coordinate plane.
An ordered pair, such as (3,2), gives the coordinates, while the point is the location represented by those coordinates on the coordinate plane.
The point (−3,4) is plotted on a coordinate plane. What are its x-coordinate and y-coordinate?
The x-coordinate is −3 and the y-coordinate is 4.