Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction to the Teacher ............................ iii VI. Multiple-Step Word Problems With
NCTM Standards Matrix for Grades 5–8 ........ v Equations ................................................ 43
VII. Rate/Time/Distance Problems ................ 46
Level One VIII. Equivalent Forms, Properties, and Order
I. Number Patterns....................................... 1 of Operations .......................................... 48
II. Simple Word Problems ............................. 4 IX. Exponents ............................................... 49
A. Word Problems With Equations ....... 4 X. Solving Equations ................................... 50
B. Word Problems With Tables ............. 5 XI. Advanced Problems With Tables, Graphs,
C. Word Problems With Graphs ........... 6 and Equations ......................................... 54
D. Word Problems With Tables and
Graphs ............................................. 7 Level Three
III. Linear Relationships ................................. 8 I. Patterns .................................................. 57
IV. Uses of Variables ...................................... 9 A. Number Patterns ............................ 57
V. Equations, Graphs, & Slope ................... 11 B. Geometric Patterns ........................ 60
VI. Multiple-Step Word Problems With C. Number Patterns With Tables......... 61
Equations ................................................ 13 D. Number Patterns With Graphs ....... 62
VII. Rate/Time/Distance Problems ................ 16 II. Word Problems ...................................... 64
VIII. Properties and Order of Operations ....... 18 A. Word Problems With Equations ..... 64
IX. Solving Inequalities ................................. 23 B. Word Problems With Tables
X. More Problems With Tables, Graphs, and and/or Graphs ............................... 66
Equations ................................................ 24 III. Linear Relationships ............................... 67
XI. Graphs and Linear Relationships ........... 27 IV. Equations, Graphs, and Slope ................ 68
V. Equations, Slope, and y-Intercept........... 69
Level Two VI. Rate/Time/Distance Problems ................ 71
I. Patterns .................................................. 29 VII. Ratios and Proportions ........................... 73
A. Number Patterns ............................ 29 VIII. Exponents ............................................... 75
B. Geometric Patterns ........................ 33 IX. Solving Equations ................................... 77
II. Word Problems ....................................... 34 X. Percent ................................................... 80
A. Word Problems With Equations ..... 34 XI. Using Algebra ......................................... 81
B. Word Problems With Tables and/or
Graphs ........................................... 35
III. Linear Relationships ............................... 38 Answer Keys .................................................. 83
IV. Linear Relationships/Slope ..................... 40
V. Slope and y-Intercept.............................. 41

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Introduction to the Teacher

Introduction to the Teacher

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra is a powerful tool that will help you equip your middle school
students with a myriad of important algebra skills. Each half-page reproducible activity targets
a specific skill, as shown in the Table of Contents. Tied to NCTM standards, these activities
provide practice in essential algebraic formats.

Your students will analyze patterns and decipher word problems. They will complete
tables and graphs, distinguish between linear and nonlinear functions, and compute ratios and
percentages. Students will get lots of practice with slope, y-intercept, geometrical patterns, and
more.

The activities are grouped into three levels of increasing difficulty. Level One includes
problems that are appropriate for upper fifth and sixth graders. Level Two is suitable for students
in grades six and seven. Level Three reaches skills for seventh and eighth graders. Your own
curriculum, state standards, and students’ abilities will determine which sections of the book
you will use and when.

At all three levels, exercises are placed from easiest to most difficult. Use the standards-
correlation chart in the front of the book to locate problems on a specific skill at a specific level.
Please note that many topics and skills overlap among multiple sections of the book.

As students progress through the activities in this book, they will find fewer and fewer
instructions. For example, #143 features a rate/time/distance problem about an eating contest.
Students are asked to find the winner, but not told how to do that. The learner will need to
decide if equations, tables, or graphs will be most helpful to solve the problem.

Students will need graph paper to complete some activities. The use of graphing
calculators is optional in this book. The problems can be solved with or without them. Generally,
however, calculators will be very helpful with the exercises in levels Two and Three.

Important notes:

• Often equations can be written in more than one way. For example, 3x – y = z can also
y
be written as 3x = z + y, x = z + d and so on. Usually, only one form of an equation is
included in the answer key.

• The symbol • is used to indicate multiplication.

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Introduction to the Teacher

Introduction to the Teacher (cont.)

How to Use this Book

Photocopy the pages that contain activities you want to use. Cut the activities apart
and assign one at a time. These exercises have been designed primarily for your students to
complete independently. These will support and enhance your math curriculum, and can be
used sequentially.

Additionally, the exercises can be used

• as daily warm-ups.

• as “extra credit” for students who finish regular work ahead of others.

• as a diagnostic tool. Since the exercises are very short, you can ask students to complete
them before you begin a new unit so that you’ll know how much time students may need
to spend on each skill.

• as review before testing. Give all of your students, or just the ones who need it most, a
quick brush-up on weak areas prior to testing.

• for partner work. Assign pairs to complete an activity together.

• to supplement centers in your room on similar topics.

• as bridge-builders with parents. Send home one activity at a time and ask students to
complete the page with a family helper. This is a simple way to involve parents in key
skill-building activities.

In short, use these Daily Skill Builders any and every way you can to make the most of
all the tools packed inside. Expect your students’ algebra skills to grow throughout the year!

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers iv

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

LEVEL ONE
ACTIVITY 1 Number Patterns Name:
Date:

Study the pattern for each sequence. Find the pattern and the next four numbers.

1. 64, 56, 48, 40, ...

Describe the pattern for the sequence:
The next four numbers are:

2. 7, 7, 14, 42, ...

Describe the pattern for the sequence:
The next four numbers are:

3. 5, 3, 9, 7, 13, ...
Describe the pattern for the sequence:
The next four numbers are:

ACTIVITY 2 Number Patterns Name:

Date:
Place the given numbers in the diagram so that the sum
along each line is the same magic sum. The sum for each row in the diagram should be the same.

1. Use the digits 12 through 18. 2. Use odd numbers from 7 to 23.
The 15 is placed for you. The 15 is placed for you.

15 15

Magic sum Magic sum

3. Why do you think the magic sum is the same in both diagrams?

4. Describe the “rule” or pattern for finding the magic sum.

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 3 Number Patterns Name:

Date:
Each table shows a function machine. The first column (x)
shows what number goes into the machine. The second column (y) shows what number comes
out. Figure out the rule each machine uses. Then complete the missing numbers in each one.

1. 2. 3.
x y x y x y
120 20 2 5 5 13
72 12 4 9 14 40
6 1 20 41 9 25
36 15 12
78 11 20
90 35 25

Rule: Rule: Rule:

Choose the correct equation for each function machine. Write it in the blank below each one.
2x + 1 = y 3x – 2 = y x÷6=y

ACTIVITY 4 Number Patterns Name:

Date:
Here is a “magical” formula. Try it with 5 different numbers.
Write them in the top line of the chart. Write your answer for each step in the columns.

Pick any
number

Add 10

Multiply
by 5

Add 1

Subtract
50

1. What is the relationship between the first number you used and your final answer?

2. Explain this “magic” formula. Use words or an equation.

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 5 Number Patterns Name:

Date:
The number of T-shirts sold at Tiny’s T-Shirt Shop always
follows the same pattern. Complete this bar graph to show the sales pattern during the past
four months.
900
Month Sales
800
March 300
700
April 400
600
May 500
500
June
400
300 July

200 Aug

100 Sept
Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept
Suppose the pattern of sales continues. Show your predictions on the graph and in the chart.

ACTIVITY 6 Number Patterns Name:

Date:
This rectangle has a perimeter of 26 m.

Length: 8 m Length (l) Width (w) Perimeter (p)

8m 5m 26 m
Width: 5 m
9m 5m 1.

10 m 5m 2.

11 m 5m 3.
Suppose that width remains the same and
the length increases by 1 m. Calculate the new perimeter for the values in the table.

4. Explain the pattern that you see in words.

5. Write the equation for finding the perimeter of a rectangle.

6. Write a new equation that explains the pattern.

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 7 Word Problems With Name:

Equations Date:

Find an equation from the box for each word problem. There is one extra equation.

1. Betsy played her ukulele at a concert. Fans bought 350 A. n = 350 x 2

tickets for $20 each. How much money came in from ticket
B. 700 x 20 = n
sales?
2. Betsy charges $350 dollars an hour. She played for 2 hours. C. 700 ÷ n = 20
Which equation will help you find the amount of money
D. 350 x 20 = n
she earned?
3. 700 seats are available for Betsy’s next concert. If she sells E. 35 + (35 x 0.20) = n

tickets for $20 each, how much money will ticket sales
bring in?
4. If tickets were $35 this year, and the price goes up by 20% next
year, what will be the new price?

ACTIVITY 8 Word Problems With Name:

Date:
Equations
Circle the numbers for the two equations that match each word problem.

1. Bryce’s gizmo factory yields x number of gizmos per day. In the past 20 days, Bryce’s fac-
tory has produced 240 gizmos. Find the number of gizmos produced per day.

A. x + 20 = 240 B. 20x = 240

C. 240 – x = 20 D. 240 ÷ 20 = x

2. Annie’s Antique Mall is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday each week. Last week, Annie
had 360 customers on Thursday and 423 on Friday. If her average number of customers
for the week was 450, how many customers did she have on Saturday?

A. 360 + 423 + 450 = x B. 450 = (360 + 423 + x) ÷ 3

C. 360 + 423 + x = 450 • 3 D. 450 – (360 + 423) = x

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 4

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 9 Word Problems With Name:

Tables Date:

Time period No. of Minutes WPM Number of Words

1–5 5 60 300
6–10 5 57
7–10 5
11–15 5
16–20 5
21–25 5
26–30 5

Mary types at a speed of 60 words per minute. She is able to continue this rate for the first five
minutes. However, from 6 to 10 minutes, she loses 3 words per minute. Every five minutes, she
loses another 3 words per minute in speed.

Complete this table to figure out how many words Mary types in minutes 26–30.

ACTIVITY 10 Word Problems With Name:

Date:
Tables
Write a word problem to go with this table. Then give the table a title.

Day Pepperoni Cheese

Word Problem:
Monday 5 10

Tuesday 6 12

Wednesday 7 14

Thursday 8 16

Friday 9 18

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 11 Word Problems With Name:

Graphs Date:

It’s spring in Blizzardville, and the snow is finally Snow on the Ground
melting! On April 1, there were 36 inches of snow 38
36
on the ground. On April 8, there were 34 inches.
34
On April 15, there were 30 inches, on April 22
32

Snow (inches)
there were 22 inches, and on April 29, there were 30
just 18 inches of snow left. 28
26
Plot the snow remaining on the ground in Bliz- 24
zardville on this graph. Can you predict ahead of 22
time whether or not you will have a straight line? 20
18
4/1 4/8 4/15 4/22 4/29
Date

ACTIVITY 12 Word Problems With Name:

Date:
Graphs
On Mondays, Jada always gets 12 out of 20 words correct from the week’s new spelling list.
She spells 2 more words correctly each day after that.

1. Which graph goes with this word problem?

Graph A Graph B
20 20 • 2. Write a word problem
18 18 • for the remaining
16 16 • graph on your own
paper.
14 14 •
12 • 12 •
10 • 10
8 • 8
6 • 6
4 • 4
2 2
Thur
Fri

Wed
Thur
Fri
Tues
Wed

Tues
Mon

Mon

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 13 Word Problems With Name:

Tables and Graphs Date:

Kyle makes $7 an hour at a coffee shop. Finish the table, and then finish the graph. Be sure to
label each axis with the necessary numbers.

Kyle’s Coffee Shop Earnings

Hours Money
worked earned

Money Earned by Kyle

0 0
1 7
2 14
3
4
5
6
Hours Worked

ACTIVITY 14 Word Problems With Name:

Date:
Tables and Graphs
A magic vine seed is planted on week 0. In week 1, it grows -inch tall. By week 2, its height is !f
!s-inch. Use the graph to finish the table. Height of Magic Vine
Height
6 • Week (inches)

5 • 0 0

4 • 1 !f
Week

3 • 2 s!
2 • 3
1 • 4
0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
!s 1 !s 2 !s 3 !s 4 !s
5 !s6 !s7 !s 8 8!s
Height of Magic Vine in Inches

Why does this relationship not produce a straight line?

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Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 15 Linear Relationships Name:

Date:
A linear relationship is one in which there is a constant rate
of change between two variables. Let’s say you save $3 a week from your babysitting job. You
will have saved $30 by the end of 10 weeks. This can be shown by the equation y = 3x. Make
both a table and a graph to illustrate this example. Be sure to label the graph.

Week Savings Savings From Babysitting Job

1 $3
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 Note: A straight line is formed by this linear function.

ACTIVITY 16 Linear Relationships Name:

Date:
A frightened inchworm is 40 feet off the ground in a tree.
He slowly crawls down. What will his height be after 10 hours? How many hours will it take him
to reach the ground? This graph will tell you. Use the information in the graph to complete the
table.
The Descent of an Inchworm Number Height
40 •
1. How many hours does it take of hours in feet
35
the worm to reach the ground? y x
30
Height in Feet

0 40
25
20 2 35
2. What do you notice about the
change in y? 15 4
10 6
5 8 20
0
0 2 4 6
•
8 10 12 14 16 10
12 10
Hours
14
16
Note: All linear relationships have a constant rate of change.

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 8

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 17 Linear Relationships Name:

Date:

1. Using what you know about patterns, predict the missing values for y

and write them in the table.

x y
2. Describe a rule to help you determine the value for y when you are given x. 2
3
4
5 14
3. Graph the data in the table on a piece of graph paper. 6 17
4. Is this a linear function? 7 20
8
5. Write an equation that shows the relationship between x and y.
9 26

ACTIVITY 18 Uses of Variables Name:

Date:
Sometimes we use variables to express formulas.
To find the perimeter of any square, we use 4S = P where S is the length of one side and P is
the perimeter.

Example: 4 x 3 = 12
The perimeter of the square shown is 12 inches.

Write these four formulas using variables.

S = 3 in.
1. Area of a rectangle

2. Perimeter of rectangle

3. Area of a triangle

4. Diameter of a circle

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 9

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Level One

ACTIVITY 19 Uses of Variables Name:

Date:
We use variables when we don’t know the numbers.
Here are some fun puzzles that use variables. Find a number that works for each letter. In each
problem, one letter represents one number. For example, if you decide that T = 1, throughout
that problem, 1 can only be represented by T, and every T will equal 1. Use a different code for
each problem.

1. 2.
FOU R N I NE
– T WO + SI X
T WO F I V E

There may be more than one solution.

ACTIVITY 20 Uses of Variables Name:

Date:
We use variables to help us find a missing number.
Read each problem. Use a variable to write an equation that would help you solve the problem.
(You do not need to solve the equation.)

1. Derek makes $8 an hour. Last week his paycheck was $280, before taxes. How many
hours did he work last week?
2. Gary drives 60 miles round trip to work. He gets 24 miles from one gallon of gasoline. How
many gallons of gas will Gary use driving back and forth to work in a 5-day work week?

3. A certain patch of mushrooms expands by 3 in.2 per hour. If the patch measures 10 in. by
6 in. at 9 A.M., what will be its size at 9 P.M.?

4. Amy bought a rare teddy bear online for $425. If she marks it up 30%
and resells it, how much will she ask for the bear when she sells it?

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 10

Daily Skill Builders: Algebra Answer Keys

Answer Keys
LEVEL ONE
Activity 1 (p. 1) one more pepperoni pizza than the night before. The
1. subtract 8: 32; 24; 16; 8 table shows the number of pepperoni and cheese
2. multiply by 1, multiply by 2, multiply by 3...: pizzas sold for the entire week. Title: Number of Pep-
168; 840; 5,040; 35,280 peroni and Cheese Pizzas Sold at Mama’s Pizzeria.
3. subtract 2, add 6, subtract 2, add 6...: 11; 17; 15; 21
Activity 11 (p. 6)
Activity 2 (p. 1) The line is not straight because the rate of snow melt
Arrangements will vary. was not consistent.
In 1. these numbers will be opposite: 12–18, 13–17,
14–16. Activity 12 (p. 6)
In 2. these numbers will be opposite: 7–23, 9–21, 1. B 2. Word problems for Graph A will vary.
11–19, 13–17.
In both 1. and 2., the magic sum is 45. Activity 13 (p. 7) 42 •
3. Because the center number is the same.
4. The sum is 3 times the center number.
Table: 21, 28, 35, 42 35 •
28 •
Activity 3 (p. 2)
21 •
1. y: 6, 13, 15; x ÷ 6 = y
14 •
2. y: 31, 23, 71; 2x + 1 = y 7 •
3. y: 34, 58, 73; 3x – 2 = y 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Activity 4 (p. 2) Activity 14 (p. 7)
1. The final number is always 5 times the original Week 3 – 1″, Week 4 – 2″, Week 5 – 4″, Week 6 – 8″;
number plus 1. It is not a straight line because the change varies.
2. Start with A. Add 10 A + 10; Multiply by 5
5(A + 10) = 5A + 50; Add 1 5A + 50 + 1; Activity 15 (p. 8)
Subtract 50 5A + 1. Savings increases in multiples of 3.
10
Activity 5 (p. 3) 9
•
•
June – 600, July – 700, Aug – 800, Sept – 900 8
•
7 •
Activity 6 (p. 3) 6 •
1. 28 2. 30 3. 32 5 •
4. Increasing the length by 1 m increases the 4 •
perimeter by 2 m. 3 •
5. 2 (L + W ) = P 6. 2 (L + 1 + W) = P + 2 2 •
1 •
Activity 7 (p. 4) 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
0
1. D 2. A 3. B 4. E
Activity 16 (p. 8)
Activity 8 (p. 4) Table: 30, 25, 15, 5, 0. 1. 16 2. It is constant.
1. B, D 2. B, C
Activity 17 (p. 9)
Activity 9 (p. 5) 1. y: 5, 8, 11, 23 2. y is one less than three times x.
At minutes 26–30, Mary will be typing 42 words per 4. Yes 5. 3x – 1 = y
minute, for a total of 210 words in that 5-minute time
period. Activity 18 (p. 9)
1. A = l • w 2. P = 2l + 2w
Activity 10 (p. 5) 3. !s bh = A 4. d = 2r
One answer: Each day, Mama’s Pizzeria sells twice
as many cheese pizzas as pepperoni. Monday, she Activity 19 (p. 10)
sold 5 pepperoni pizzas. The next four days, she sold Variations are possible.
1. 1,876 – 938 = 938 2. 7,674 + 960 = 8,634

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 83