University of Waterloo Centre for Education in

Waterloo, ON Canada Mathematics and Computing

N2L 3G1 Faculty of Mathematics

NUMBER SENSE AND NUMERATION: ALGEBRA AND POLYNOMIALS

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Mathematics and Computing, University of Waterloo.
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 A term is a number, or a variable, or the product of numbers and variables.
For example, the expression x 2  7x has two terms: x 2 and 7x .
 A coefficient is the numerical factor of the term.
For example, 5 is the coefficient in the term 5x 2 y .
 A constant does not include a variable.
For example, 8 is the constant in x 3  8 .
 Like terms have the same variables and are raised to the same exponent.
For example, 6x 3 and - 4x3 are like terms.
 Unlike terms have different variables or the same variable raised to a different exponent.
For example, 2x, 3y and 4z are unlike terms, as well as 7x 2 and  9x 3 .

1. Complete the following chart.

Fun Fact!
Expression Number of Terms Coefficient of x Constant
5x Many mathematical
2x  4 y terms are derived
3x 2  6x  4 from Greek words.
2x  16 The terms monomial,
4z 3  3y 2  5x  10 binomial and trinomial
come from the
prefixes “mono”, “bi”
2. Circle the like terms.
and “tri” meaning 1, 2
a. 3y,2x, 3x d. xy, 4x 2 y, 3xy2 , 2yx and 3. A monomial has
b.  4g, 3h,  2g e. 6lmn, 4lm 3n, 5n2 m2 ,(3mn)2 1 term, a binomial has
1 2 terms and a
c.  6x, 2x 2 ,  4x 2 , 4 f. 0.3m, 2.5n 3 , 2n, 3.2n 3 , n 3 trinomial has 3 terms.
2

3. Simplify.
a. 3x  2x  4x e. 2n  3  4n  8 i. (4h  5)  (2h  3)
b.  y  y  3y f.  4x  2  7  7x j. (2 x  3 y)  (3x  y)
c. 12 x2  2 x2  32 g. 0.4 x  0.1x  0.2 y  x k. (2x 2  2x  3)  ( x 2  3x  2)
d. 5s 4  4s 4  3s 2  2s 2 h.  x 3  2x 2  3x 2  5x 3 l. (3x2  4 xy  6 y 2 )  (6 x2  8xy  3 y 2 )

Expectations: i) demonstrating basic understanding of algebraic knowledge and skills. ii) manipulating expressions with up to two variables and solving 1
equations of first degree. For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
 Distributive Law
In algebra, when we multiply a polynomial by a monomial, we use the distributive law to expand the
product:
a(b  c)  ab  ac , a(b  c)  ab  ac
For example, 2(3x  2)  2(3x)  2(2)  6 x  4 .

Do not break the

distributive law!
4. Expand and simplify where necessary. Remember,
a. 5(a  2) d. 2(3x  1)  5(4x  2) negatives get
b.  4(2  3x) e. 4(5x  1)  (2x  3) distributed as
c. 2(x  4x  1)
2
3 1 2  3 1 2  well!
f.  a  b   a  b
2 3 3 4 3 3

5. Multiply the polynomial by the monomial.

a. (8x  4)(7 y) d. (5y  7x)(3xy 2 )
b. (5x  3)(2x) e. ( 4x)(3x 2  2xy  y2 )
c. (5x 2  3x  7)(19xy) f. (3x 4 y3  2x3 y3  2xy 2 )(xy 4 )

6. Write an equation to represent the area of:

x
a. the large square. 2x
b. the small square.
c. the shaded region.

7. John has change in his pocket consisting of quarters, loonies ($1 coins, the
one on the left) and toonies ($2 coins, the one on the right). The number of
quarters is twice the number of loonies and the number of loonies is twice
the number of toonies.
a. Write an algebraic expression to represent the number of coins he has,
using only one variable.
b. Write an algebraic expression to represent the value of these coins.
c. How much money does he have in his pocket, if he has two toonies?

Fun Fact!
The inner portion of the toonie is made primarily out of copper while the outer ring is
made mostly out of nickel. If the diameter of the coin is about 28 mm and the diameter
of the inner portion is 21 mm, can you write an equation modelling the area of the inner
portion on a toonie?

Expectations: i) demonstrating basic understanding of algebraic knowledge and skills. ii) manipulating expressions with up to two variables and solving 2
equations of first degree. For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
8. Michelle parks her car in a private parking lot for $1.50 per hour plus an initial parking fee.
She paid $12.50 for 6 hours of parking.
a. What was the initial parking fee?
b. Write a formula for the cost of parking?
c. How much money does she need to pay if her car was parked for 8 hours?

9. Solve each equation.

a. 5k  3  8 e. 14b  5  12b  8
b. 4  7m  4m  2 f. 5( x  4)  10  5  4( x  1)
c. 15  3z  4 z  8 g. 14 x 16  6  2 x  2
d. 2( x  3)  5  6 h. 3(a  2)  5a  14  6(5  3a)

10. A machine part has the dimensions as shown. (All the dimensions Tips for solving
are in centimetres.) equations
2y  5
6y  15 1. Identify the variable.
2. Expand and simplify
the equations.
3. Arrange the equation
26  x so that all variables are
on the same side and
2x all numbers are on the
3x  10 opposite side.
4. Solve for the variable
a. If EF  GH , calculate the value of x . by doing arithmetic
b. What is the total width ( EF  GH ) of the part? operations.
c. How are the lengths AB  CD and EF  GH related?
d. Determine the value of y.

11. Find three consecutive numbers with the sum 144.

12. Jack is preparing a birthday gift for his nephew Charlie and bought the number of candles
that corresponds to his age. The sum of Jack’s and Charlie’s ages equals 30. In 5 years,
Jack will be three times older than Charlie. How many candles should Jack add to the
cake on the right? How old is Jack now?

13. The rental costs, C, of two car agencies are based on distance driven in kilometres, d, and a basic fee.
For a car rental, car agency A charges $1.25 per kilometre plus $30.00 of basic fee and car agency B
charges $1.50 per kilometre plus $20.00 of basic fee.
a. Write an equation that represents the rental costs charged by each of two car agencies.
b. Mary plans to rent a car for a day and intends to drive 30 km. From which company should she rent a
car to minimize cost?
c. William also plans to rent a car for a day trip of 150 km. From which company should he rent a car to
minimize the cost?
d. Calculate the distance for which the rental costs of the two companies are the same.
e. What is the cost of driving this distance?

Company A Company B

Expectations: i) demonstrating basic understanding of algebraic knowledge and skills. ii) manipulating expressions with up to two variables and solving 3
equations of first degree. For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
 CHALLENGE YOURSELF!
14. In a group of men and women, the average age is 31. If the men’s ages average 35 years, and the women’s
ages average 25. What is the ratio of the number of men to the number of women?

15. The side, front, and bottom faces of a rectangular solid have areas of 32, 24 and 48 cm2 respectively.
What is the volume of the rectangular solid, in cm3? 32 cm2
2
24 cm2
48 cm

EXTENSIONS

Binomial Expansion

(a  b)2  (a 2  2ab  b2 ) or (a  b)2  (a 2  2ab  b2 )

Proof: using distributive law

(a  b)  (a  b)(a  b)  a(a  b)  b(a  b)  a 2  ab  ba  b2  a 2  2ab  b2
2

Similarly, (a  b)2  a2  2ab  b2 .

16. The square ACEG is made of two squares and two rectangles.
If HG  a and CD  b ,
b
a. What is the area of the square HIFG?
b. What is the area of the square BCDI?
c. What is the area of the rectangle ABIH?
d. What is the area of the rectangle IDEF? a
e. What is the area of the square ACEG?
f. What is the relationship between the area of the square ACEG
and the sum of the squares HIFG, BCDI and the rectangles
ABIH and ACEG?

17. Use the formula to expand the following expressions.

a. (3a  2b)2 1 1 
2

b. (2 x  y)2 c.  m  n2 
2 3 
d. (a  b  c)2
18. Use your knowledge of (a  b)2 and your result in 17d) to write down the expansion of (a  b  c  d)2 .

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Expectations: i) demonstrating basic understanding of algebraic knowledge and skills. ii) manipulating expressions with up to two variables and solving 4
equations of first degree. For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.