Year 7 Mathematics

Algebra

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 Exercise 1

Representing Variables

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 1: Representing Variables

1) There are a certain number of

lollies in a jar, but you don’t know a) John’s brother is three
how many. If “a” represents the years older than him
number of lollies in the jar, write
an expression that represents: ‫ݔ‬+3

a) The number of lollies plus b) John’s sister is half his age

one
‫ݔ‬
ܽ+1 2

b) Four less than the number

c) John’s father is four times
his age
of lollies

4‫ݔ‬
ܽ−4

c) Twice the number of lollies

d) John’s mother is three
times his age plus five
2ܽ
3‫ ݔ‬+ 5

d) Half the number of lollies

e) If you add two to John’s
ܽ age then multiply this
2 number by five you get the
age of John’s grandfather
e) Twice the number of lollies
plus one 5(‫ ݔ‬+ 2)

2ܽ + 1 3) The number of people at a party at

8 o’clock is unknown but can be
f) The number of lollies plus represented by a variable. For the
one, then this number next three hours 4 people per hour
doubled come to the party

2(ܽ + 1) a) Represent the number of

people at the party at nine
2) If John’s age is represented by the o’clock, ten o’clock and
variable x, how would the ages of eleven o’clock
the rest of his family be
represented? ‫ ݔ‬+ 4, ‫ ݔ‬+ 8, ‫ ݔ‬+ 12

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 1: Representing Variables

b) By midnight, there was only d) Jeff will put in double

half the number of people whatever Peter puts in
at the party than at 11
o’clock. Represent this 2(‫ ݔ‬+ 2)
amount
5) Jack scored highest on the maths
‫ ݔ‬+ 12 test. Represent the following
2 scores in relation to Jack’s score

c) By one am there was only

a) Karl scored five less than
half the number of people
Jack
at the party as there was at
8 o’clock. Represent this
‫ݔ‬−5
number

‫ݔ‬ b) Tom scored ten less than

2 Jack

4) Mark and his friends agree to give ‫ ݔ‬− 10

money to a charity. Represent the
contributions of each person in c) Daniel scored half Jack’s
terms of the amount Mark score
contributes
‫ݔ‬
2
a) Peter says he will put in $2
more than Mark
d) Brian scored three less than
Daniel
‫ݔ‬+2
‫ݔ‬
b) Frank will put in $5 more −3
2
than Mark
e) Fred scored half Karl’s
‫ݔ‬+5 score

c) Alan will put in double ‫ݔ‬−5

whatever Frank puts in 2

2(‫ ݔ‬+ 5)

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 1: Representing Variables

6) In the first week of the basketball

season a team scored a certain ‫ ݔ‬+ 5 + 6 = ‫ ݔ‬+ 11
number of points. Each week they
performed better than the c) In week four they scored
previous week. Represent each twice the number of points
week’s scores in terms of their than they did in week two
score of the first week.
2(‫ ݔ‬+ 5)
a) In week two they scored 5
points more than they did d) In week five they scored
in week one double the number of
points than they did in
‫ݔ‬+5 week three

b) In week three they scored 6 2(‫ ݔ‬+ 11)

points more than they did
in week two

e) What was the total number of points scored in the five weeks?

‫ ݔ‬+ (‫ ݔ‬+ 5) + (‫ ݔ‬+ 11) + 2(‫ ݔ‬+ 5) + 2(‫ ݔ‬+ 11) = 7‫ ݔ‬+ 48

7) If y is the age of Peter, what is each of the following expressions describing

a) ‫ݕ‬+1

Peter’s age plus 1 year

b) ‫ݕ‬−2

Peter’s age minus 2 years

c) ‫ݕ‬+5

Peter’s age plus 5 years

d) 2‫ݕ‬

Twice Peter’s age

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 1: Representing Variables

e) 2‫ ݕ‬+ 1

Twice Peter’s age plus 1 year

f) 2(‫ ݕ‬+ 1)

Peter’s age plus 1 year then this amount doubled

ଵ
g) ଶ
‫ݕ‬−4

Half Peter’s age minus 4 years

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 Exercise 2

Simplifying Expressions

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 2: Simplifying Expressions

1) Add the following: 4‫ݔ‬

a) One bag of apples plus one c) If there are ten apples in a

bag of apples bag, how many apples are
there in part a?
2 bags of apples
4 × 10 = 40
b) One bag of lollies plus one
bag of lollies d) If ‫ = ݔ‬10, what is the
answer to part b?
2 bags of lollies
4 × 10 = 40

c) Two piles of bricks plus two

piles of bricks 3) Let r represent the number of
kilometeres a man walks every day
4 piles of bricks
a) How many kilometres
d) Four eggs plus four eggs would he walk in 3 days?

8 eggs 3‫ݎ‬

e) Four ‫ ݔ‬plus four ‫ݔ‬ b) What are 3 lots of r?

8‫ݔ‬ 3‫ݎ‬

f) 4‫ ݔ‬+ 4‫ݔ‬ c) If he walks 5 kilometres per

day, how many kilometres
8‫ݔ‬ would he walk in 3 days?

15 km
2) Let ‫ ݔ‬represent the number of
apples in a bag
d) If ‫ = ݎ‬5, what is the answer
to part b?
a) What is two bags of apples
plus two bags of apples?
15
4 bags of apples

b) What is 2‫ ݔ‬+ 2‫?ݔ‬

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 2: Simplifying Expressions

4) How many lots of ‫ ݔ‬are there in

total in each of the following? 2

a) ‫ݔ‬+‫ݔ‬ e) 3‫ ݔ‬− 3‫ݔ‬

2 0

b) ‫ݔ‬+‫ݔ‬+‫ݔ‬ 6) How many lots of ‫ ݎ‬are there in

each of the following?
3
a) 4‫ ݎ‬+ ‫ ݎ‬− 2‫ݎ‬
c) 2‫ ݔ‬+ ‫ݔ‬
3
3
b) 3‫ ݎ‬− ‫ ݎ‬− ‫ݎ‬
d) 2‫ ݔ‬+ 2‫ݔ‬
1
4
c) 2‫ ݎ‬+ ‫ ݎ‬− ‫ݎ‬
e) 2‫ ݔ‬+ 1 + 3‫ݔ‬
2
5
ଵ ଵ
d) ଶ
‫ ݎ‬+ ଶ‫ݎ‬
5) How many lots of ‫ ݔ‬are there in
each of the following? 1

a) 3‫ ݔ‬− ‫ݔ‬ e) 6‫ ݎ‬− 4‫ ݎ‬− 2‫ݎ‬

2 0

b) 3‫ ݔ‬− 2‫ݔ‬ 7) What is the value of 2‫ ݔ‬+ 2‫ݔ‬

when:
1
a) ‫=ݔ‬3
c) 4‫ ݔ‬− ‫ݔ‬
12
3

d) 5‫ ݔ‬− 3‫ݔ‬

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 2: Simplifying Expressions

b) ‫=ݔ‬2
f) 20
8
100
c) ‫=ݔ‬1

ଵ
d) ‫=ݔ‬ଶ

e) ‫=ݔ‬0

8) If ‫ ݔ‬is the number of counters in a

row, how many counters are there
in 5 rows when ‫= ݔ‬:

a) 2

10

b) 4

20

c) 1

d) 10

50

e) 0

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 Exercise 3

Geometric Patterns

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

1) Peter is making shapes with matches; he gets three matches and makes a triangle,
which has three sides

He adds another match to his shape and makes a quadrilateral, which has four sides

He adds another match to his shape and makes a pentagon, which has five sides

He notices a very simple pattern which he puts into a table

Number of sides in the

Number of matches used
shape
3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9

a) Complete the table

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

b) Complete this sentence: “The number of sides in the shape is equal to ..........”

The number of matches used

c) If his shape has 100 sides, how many matches has he used?

100

d) If he has used 200 matches, how many sides does his shape have?

200

2) Peter uses matches to tessellate triangles. He makes one triangle which uses 3
matches

He adds enough matches so that two triangles are tessellated

He tessellates another triangle

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

He notices a pattern which he puts into a table

Number of triangles Number of matches

1 3

2 5

3 7

4 9

5 11

a) Complete the table

b) Complete the table

Number of triangles Number of matches

1 3 (1 × 2) + 1

2 5 (2 × 2) + 1

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

3 7 (3 × 2) + 1

4 9 (૝ × ૛) + ૚

5 11 (૞ × ૛) + ૚

c) Use the table to help complete the sentence: “The number of matches equals
the number of triangles. multiplied by .............., then add ......................

Two, then add 1

d) Use the rule to predict the number of matches used when 200 triangles are
made

Number = (200 × 2) + 1 = 401 matches

3) Peter next makes a pattern of squares

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

a) Complete the table

Number of squares Number of matches

1 4

2 7

3 10

4 13

5 16

b) Complete the table

Number of squares Number of matches

1 4 (1 × 3) + 1

2 7 (2 × 3) + 1

3 10 (૜ × ૜) + ૚

4 13 (૝ × ૜) + ૚

5 16 (૞ × ૜) + ૚

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

c) Use the table to help complete the sentence: “The number of matches equals
................................................... multiplied by .............,. then add ....................

The number of squares multiplied by three, then add one

d) Use the rule above to find the number of matches used to make 200 squares

(200 × 3) + 1 = 601 matches

4) Peter then cuts a circle into various pieces:

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

a) Complete the table

Number of cuts Number of sections

1 2

2 4

3 6

4 8

5 10

b) Complete the sentence: “The number of sections is equal to the number of

cuts .........................”

Multiplied by twp

c) How many sections will be there be if there are 60 cuts made?

60 × 2 = 120

d) How many cuts are needed to make 180 sections?

Number of cuts x 2 = 180

Need 90 cuts

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

5) Peter next builds a tower

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

a) Complete the table

Number of rows Number of blocks

1 1

2 3

3 6

4 10

5 15

b) Describe what happens to the number of blocks added to the tower each
time a row is added

The number of blocks in each row increases by one each time a new row is
added

c) How many blocks would be added to the tower in the 6th row?

There were 5 extra in the 5th row, so there would be 6 extra in the 6th row

d) How many blocks would be in the tower if it was 7 rows high?

(15 + 6 + 7) = 28

6) Peter cuts a block across its length

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise3: Geometric Patterns

a) Complete the table

Number of cuts Number of sections

1 2

2 3

3 4

4 5

5 6

b) The number of sections increases by ................ each time a cut is

made

One

c) Describe in words how to work out the number of sections if the

number of cuts is known

The number of sections equals the number of cuts plus one

d) Use this rule to calculate how many sections will be made from 95
cuts

95 + 1 = 96

e) How many cuts will have been made if there are 133 sections?

Number of cuts + 1 = 133 sections

Number of cuts = 132

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 Exercise 4

Number Patterns

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 4: Number Patterns

1) Complete the table

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

‫ݔ‬+2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2) Complete the table

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2‫ݔ‬ 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

3) Complete the table

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3‫ ݔ‬− 1 2 5 8 11 14 17 20

4) Complete the table, and describe the pattern that relates the numbers in the bottom
row to the corresponding number in the top row

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 6 9 12 15 18 21

The numbers in the bottom row are 3 times the corresponding number in the top
row

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 4: Number Patterns

5) Complete the table, and describe the pattern that relates the numbers in the
bottom row to the corresponding number in the top row

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 5 7 9 11 13 15

The numbers in the bottom row are twice the corresponding number in the top row
plus 1

6) Complete the table, and describe the pattern that relates the numbers in the bottom
row to the corresponding number in the top row

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

???? 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The numbers in the bottom row are equal to the corresponding number in the top
row plus four

7) Mark’s age is twice John’s age. How old is Mark if John is

a) 10

2 × 10 = 20

b) 5

2 × 5 = 10

c) 15

2 × 15 = 30

d) 20

2 × 20 = 40

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 4: Number Patterns

e) How old is John if Mark is 32?

2 × John’s age = 32

John is 16

8) Peter has twice the amount of money that Alan has plus 2 dollars. How much money
does Peter have if Alan has

a) 8 dollars

(2 × 8) + 2 = $18

b) 15 dollars

(2 × 15) + 2 = $32

c) 20 dollars

(2 × 20) + 2 = $42

d) $15.50

(2 × 15.5) + 2 = $33

e) How much money does Alan have if Peter has 12 dollars?

2 × Alan’s money+2 = $12

2 × Alan’s money= $10

Alan has $5

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 4: Number Patterns

9) A large bus is allowed to carry three times the number of passengers of a small bus
minus one.

(Let x represent the number of passengers the small bus can carry, and y represent
the number of passenger the large bus can carry (any variables are suitable))

a) Write this relationship using algebra

‫ = ݕ‬3‫ ݔ‬− 1

b) How many passengers can the large bus carry if the small bus can carry 12
passengers?

(3 × 12) − 1 = 35

c) How many passengers can the large bus carry if the small bus can carry 20
passengers?

(3 × 20) − 1 = 59

d) How many passengers can the small bus carry if the large bus can carry 44
passengers?

3 × number on small bus−1 = 44

3 × number on small bus = 45

Number on small bus = 15

e) Does the rule work for all numbers of passengers? Explain why not with an
example.

No, if there were no passengers on the small bus, the number on the large
bus would work out to be −1

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 4: Number Patterns

10) If you add one to the number of people who are at a soccer game, then double that
number, you get the number of people who are at a basketball game

(Let r represent the number of people at the soccer game, and k represent the
number of people at the basketball game)

a) Write this relationship using algebra

݇ = 2(‫ ݎ‬+ 1)

b) If there are 40 people at the soccer game how many are there at the
basketball game?

2 × (40 + 1 = 82)

c) If there are 100 people at the soccer game, how many people are there at the
basketball game?

2 × (100 + 1) = 202

d) If there are 62 people at the basketball game, how many people are there at
the soccer game?

2 ×(number of people at soccer game +1)= 62

Number of people at soccer game+1 = 31

Number of people at soccer game = 30

e) Can you always work out the number of people at the soccer game if you
know the number of people at the basketball game? Explain your answer
with an example

No: If there are an odd number of people of people at the basketball game
then this cannot be double any whole number. Therefore the number of
people at the soccer game plus 1 would have to equal a non whole number,
which means the number of people at the soccer game could not be a whole
number using this formula. The formula only works for certain quantities of
people

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 Exercise 5

Graphing Patterns

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

1) Graph the following relationship

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

‫ݔ‬+2 3 4 5

y
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8 (7,9)
(6,8)
6 (5,7)
(4,6)
4 (3,5)
(2,4)
2 (1,3)
x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

2) Graph the following relationship

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2‫ݔ‬ 2 4 6

y
24
22
20
18
16
14
(7,14)
12
(6,12)
10
(5,10)
8
(4,8)
6
(3,6)
4
(2,4)
2
(1,2) x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

3) Graph the following relationship

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3‫ ݔ‬− 1 2 5 8

y
24
22
20
(7,20)
18
16 (6,17)
14
(5,14)
12
10 (4,11)
8
(3,8)
6
4 (2,5)
2
(1,2) x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

4) Graph the following relationship

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2‫ ݔ‬+ 1 3 5 7

y
24
22
20
18
16
14 (7,15)
12 (6,13)
10 (5,11)
8 (4,9)
6 (3,7)
4 (2,5)
2 (1,3)
x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

5) Graph the following relationship

‫ݔ‬ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

‫ݔ‬−4 -3 -2 -1

y
14

12

10

2 (7,3)
(6,2)
x
(5,1)
1 2 3 4
(4,0) 5 6 7 8 9
-2 (3,-1)
(2,-2)
-4 (1,-3)

6) An electrician charges $50 call out fee and $30 per hour for his services
Draw a table showing the amount charged for 1 to 7 hours and graph the
relationship using a suitable scale

Hours 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Charge 80 110 140 170 200 230 260

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

y
$

250 (7,260)

(6,230)
200
(5,200)

(4,170)
150
(3,140)
100 (2,110)

(1,80)
50

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Hours

7) When baking scones the oven must be set at 150 degrees Celsius plus 2 degrees
extra per scone

Draw a table that shows what temperature an oven must be on to cook 10, 20, 30,
40 and 50 scones and graph the relationship using appropriate scale

No of scones 10 20 30 40 50

Temperature 170 190 210 230 250

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

Scone cooking temperature

Temperature y

250
(50,250)
(40,230)
200 (30,210)
(20,190)
150 (10,170)

100

50

10 20 30 40 50
Number of scones

Can the points on the graph be joined up to form a line? Why or why not?

No: although some more points can be plotted, a line cannot be drawn to show the
relationship. Not all values of scones are valid. For example, what is the
temperature to bake 2 and a half scones, or 105.345 scones?

8) A river has a stepping stone every 1.5 metres. Draw a table showing the relationship
between the number of stones and the distance travelled across the river. Draw a
graph that shows the relationship. Explain why the points should not be joined to
form a line

Scone cooking temperature

Distance
y

18
16
14 (10,15)
12 (9,13.5)
(8,12)
10 (7,10.5)
8 (6,9)
6 (5,7.5)
(4,6)
4 (3,4.5)
2 (2,3)
(1,1.5) x

10
-2 Number of stones

-4

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

The points cannot be joined since there cannot be a distance corresponding half a
stepping stone for example; the distance is only valid for whole numbers of stones

9) A boy places three lollies into a jar. Every minute he puts in another lolly.

a) Draw a table that shows how many lollies in the jar after each minute

Minutes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Lollies 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

b) Graph the relationship

Lollies
y

10

(7,10)
(6,9)
8

(5,8)
(4,7)
6

(3,6)
(2,5)
4

(1,4)
(0,3)
2

x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Minutes
-2

c) Explain why the points should not be joined

Since he only puts a lolly in every minute, it makes no sense to graph values
for fractions of minutes

10) Alan has 20 CDs in his collection. At the end of each month he buys a CD

a) Draw a table that shows how many CDs in his collection each month

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Chapter 2: Algebra: Solutions Exercise 5: Graphing Patterns

Months 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

CDs 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

b) Graph the relationship

CDs
y

(7,27)
25
(6,26)
(5,25)
(4,24)
(3,23)
(2,22)
20
(1,21)
(0,20)

15

10

x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Months

c) Explain why the points should not be joined

He buys a CD each month, so it makes no sense to graph points for parts of a

month

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