NOTES ON SIMPLIFYING AND EVALUATING ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS

Example 1:

Simplify: 5x + 6y + 2x + 3 + x  Group the unknowns together.

 Group the numbers together.
= 5x + 6y + 2x + 3 + x
 Do the operations.
= 5x + 2x + x + 6y + 3
= 8x + 6y + 3

Example 2:

Simplify: 4s + 5 + 6r –s + 1 - 2r

= 4s + 5 + 6r – s + 1 - 2r
= 4s - s + 6r – 2r + 5 + 1
= 3s + 4r + 6

Example 3:

Find the value of 5 + b if b= 8.

 Replace the variable ‘b’ with 8.
=5+b
 Do the operation.
=5+8
= 13

Example 4:

Find the value of 6m – 2n if m= 6 and n= 3.

 Replace the variable ‘m’ with 6
= 6m – 2n
and variable ‘n’ with 3.
=6x6–2x3
= 36 – 6  Do the operation.
= 30
Example 5:

There are q pencils in one box. Fahmi has 6 boxes of pencils and Suria has 4 boxes of pencils.

Fahmi

Suria

a) How many pencils do they have altogether in terms of q?

b) How many more pencils has Fahmi than Suria in terms of q?
c) If each box has 6 pencils, how many more pencils has Fahmi than Suria?

Solutions:

(a) How many pencils do they have altogether in terms of q?

Fahmi has 6 boxes of pencils. Each box has q pencils.

Working:
Step 1

q + q + q + q + q + q + = 6 × q = 6q
Fahmi has 6q pencils.

Step 2

Suria has 4 boxes of pencils. Each box has q pencils.

q + q + q + q = 4 x q = 4q

6q + 4q = 10q

They have 10q pencils altogether.

b) How many more pencils has Fahmi than Suria in terms of q?

6q – 4q = 2q

Fahmi has 2q more pencils than Suria.

c) If each box has 6 pencils, how many more pencils has Fahmi than Suria?

2q = 2 x q = 2 x 6 = 12

Fahmi has 12 more pencils than Suria.

Example 6:

Halim has f stickers. Nora has 3 times as many stickers as Halim and Balqis has 2 stickers
more than Halim.
a) Express the number of stickers that they have altogether in terms of f.
b) How many more stamps has Nora than Balqis if Halim has 8 stickers?

Solution:
a) Express the number of stickers that they have altogether in terms of f.
Working:

Halim
Nora
Balqis

Halim has f stickers.

Nora has 3 × f stickers or 3f stickers.
Balqis has f + 2 stickers.

Total stickers = f + 3f + f + 2 = 5f + 2
b) How many more stickers has Nora than Balqis if Halim has 8 stickers?

Working:

3f − f − 2 = 2f − 2
Nora has 2f − 2 more stickers than Balqis.

Now, replace f by 8.
2f − 2 = 2 × 8 − 2 = 14
Nora has 14 more stickers than Balqis.

Example 7:

A packet of potato chips has a mass of k grams and a box of cookies has twice as much mass.
a) What is the mass of a box of cookies in terms of k?
b) Mateen bought 3 packets of potato chips and some boxes of cookies. The total mass of the
items he bought was 1.8 kg. What was the mass of cookies that he bought expressed in terms
of k?
c) If each packet of potato chips had a mass of 120 grams, how many boxes of cookies did he
buy?

Solution:

a) What is the mass of a box of cookies in terms of k?

Working:
k

Packet of potato chips

Box of cookies

?
2 x k = 2k

The mass of a box of cookies is 2k grams.

b) Mateen bought 3 packets of potato chips and some boxes of cookies. The total mass of the
items he bought was 1.8 kg. What was the mass of cookies that he bought expressed in
terms of k?

Working:
k

Packet of potato chips

1.8 kg
Box of cookies …
..
2k grams

Total mass of items = 1.8 kg = 1800 grams

Mass of 3 packets of potato chips = 3 x k = 3k grams
Mass of all boxes of cookies = 1800 – 3k grams

c) If each packet of potato chips had a mass of 120 grams, how many boxes of cookies did he
buy?

Mass of 1 box of cookies = 2k grams

2 x 120 = 240 grams

Mass of all boxes of cookies = 1800 – 3k grams

= 1800 – 3 x 120 grams
= 1800 – 360 grams
= 1440 grams

Total number of boxes of cookies = 1440 ÷ 240 = 6

Mateen bought 6 boxes of cookies.