Algebraic Concepts

Are you familiar with…?

2 3 𝑥8
• + =? • =?
9 9 𝑥 12
• Is 2 a real number?
4 2
7 • + =? • 𝑥2 3
=?
5 3
• Is a rational number?
0
• 23 25 =?
• Is −13 an integer?
• 2−3 =?

1
• Can you add, subtract, multiply, and divide algebraic
• How do you express 35 by using radical sign? expressions?
3
• How do you simplify 𝑥 6𝑦 4? • Can you factor algebraic expressions?
Sets of real numbers
• Set
• Element
• Finite set vs. infinite set
• Empty set, null set

• Relations between sets

• Equal set(c.f. disjoint set)
• Subset
• Universal set

• Set operations
• Set intersection, set union, complement set
The real number system

Rational
numbers

Integers

Whole Irrational numbers

numbers

Natural
 0 in the denominator is not defined
numbers

 Relationship between rational and decimal numbers

The real number line

• A line whose points represent real numbers

• Directions and distance Origin

• Coordinate

• One-to-one correspondence -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

• Inequalities

• Intervals
• Open intervals, closed intervals, half-open intervals
Properties of real numbers
Let 𝑎, 𝑏, c be real numbers

1. The transitive property of equality: If 𝑎 = 𝑏 and 𝑏 = 𝑐, then 𝑎 = 𝑐

2. The closure properties of addition and multiplication

3. The commutative properties of addition and multiplication: 𝑎 + 𝑏 = 𝑏 + 𝑎 and 𝑎𝑏 = 𝑏𝑎

4. The associative properties of addition and multiplication: 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 = 𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 and 𝑎 𝑏𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏 𝑐

5. The identity properties

6. The inverse properties (c.f. define subtraction by addition and division by multiplication)

7. The distributive properties: 𝑎 𝑏 + 𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏 + 𝑎𝑐 and 𝑏 + 𝑐 𝑎 = 𝑏𝑎 + 𝑐𝑎

Properties of real numbers (cont.)
𝑎 𝑎 𝑐 𝑎𝑐
• = = 𝑏𝑐 when 𝑐 ≠ 0. • Examples
𝑏 𝑏 𝑐
𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 1 𝑎 𝑐
• = ∙ 1=𝑏∙𝑐∙𝑐 =𝑏∙𝑐 10
𝑏 𝑏 • =
35

2 3
•
𝑎
+
𝑏
=
𝑎+𝑏 • + =
9 9
𝑐 𝑐 𝑐
𝑎 𝑏 1 1 1 𝑎+𝑏
• + = 𝑎∙𝑐+𝑏∙𝑐 = 𝑎+𝑏 ∙𝑐 = •
4 2
+ =
𝑐 𝑐 𝑐 5 3

14𝑥
𝑎 𝑐 𝑎𝑑+𝑏𝑐 • =
• + = 21𝑦
𝑏 𝑑 𝑏𝑑

𝑎 𝑑 𝑐 𝑏 𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑐 𝑎𝑑+𝑏𝑐
• 2𝑥 𝑦 − 7 =
• 𝑏 𝑑
+ 𝑑 𝑏
= 𝑏𝑑
+ 𝑏𝑑
= 𝑏𝑑 −𝑎𝑏𝑦
• =
−𝑎𝑥
• Least common denominator(LCD)
Exponents and radicals
• Product: result of multiplication, indicating factors
ex) 10 is the product of 2 and 5; 𝑎𝑏𝑐 is the product of 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐

• 𝑥 𝑛 (reads x to the nth power or x to the power of n) represents the product of 𝑛 𝑥’s

𝑛 exponent
base 𝑥
• If 𝑛 is a positive integer,
• 𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑥 ∙ 𝑥 ∙ ⋯ ∙ 𝑥 (𝑛 factors)
1
• 𝑥 −𝑛 = (x is not equal to 0)
𝑥𝑛
1 𝑛
• =𝑥
𝑥 −𝑛
0
• 𝑥 =1
Exponents and radicals (cont.)
• Rules of exponents
(for real numbers 𝑥 and 𝑦, integers 𝑚 and 𝑛)

• 𝑥𝑚 ∙ 𝑥𝑛 = 𝑥 𝑚+𝑛
𝑥 𝑚 𝑥𝑚
• = (y is not equal to 0)
𝑦 𝑦𝑚
𝑥𝑚 𝑚−𝑛 (x is not equal to 0)
• =𝑥
𝑥𝑛
• 𝑥 0 = 1 (whether x is not equal to 0 is controversial)
• 𝑥𝑦 𝑚 = 𝑥𝑚 ∙ 𝑦𝑚
𝑥 −𝑛 𝑦 𝑛
• = (both x and y is not equal to 0)
• 𝑥𝑚 𝑛 = 𝑥 𝑚𝑛 𝑦 𝑥
Exponents and radicals (cont.)
• If 𝑟 𝑛 = 𝑥 (n is a positive integer), 𝑟 is an 𝑛𝑡ℎ root of 𝑥
Radical sign

Index 𝑛
𝑥 Radicand

𝐱=𝟎 𝐱>𝟎 𝐱<𝟎

𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
𝑛 even x=0 x>0 x not real
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
𝑛 odd x=0 x>0 x<0

• Exponents and radicals (for positive integer n and any integer m)

1
𝑛 𝑛
• 𝑥 =𝑛 𝑥, if 𝑥 exists
𝑚 1 𝑚
• 𝑥 = 𝑥
𝑛 𝑛 = 𝑛
𝑥 𝑚
Exponents and radicals (cont.)
• Rules of radicals (given that 𝑛
𝑥 and 𝑛
𝑦 are real)

𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
• 𝑥𝑛 = 𝑥 =𝑥

𝑛
• 𝑥∙𝑛 𝑦= 𝑛
𝑥𝑦

𝑛
𝑥 𝑛 𝑥
• 𝑛 𝑦 = (y is not equal to 0)
𝑦
Exponents and radicals (cont.)

• 23 ∙ 25 = 2
• =
5

• 23 5
=
• 𝑥 5𝑦8 5 =

3 −2 5
• = 𝑥 1Τ5 𝑦 6Τ5
4 • =
𝑧 2Τ5

1
−2
• 4 = 1
• 2 =
2𝑥−2
16𝑥3
2Τ
• 64𝑎3 3 =
Operations with algebraic expressions
• Algebraic expression: numbers and letters connected by addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division
(c.f. letters representing fixed numbers are called constant; otherwise they are called variable)

5𝑎𝑥 3 − 2𝑏𝑥 + 3
• Terms

• Factors

• Coefficient

• Monomial, multinomial, polynomial

• General form of polynomial in 𝑥: 𝑎𝑛 ∙ 𝑥 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 ∙ 𝑥 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎1 ∙ 𝑥 + 𝑎0 (nonnegative integer n, 𝑎𝑛 ≠ 0)

• Degree of a polynomial
Operations with algebraic expressions
(cont.)
• Addition and subtraction of polynomials
• Similar terms (like terms): (3𝑥 2 𝑦 − 2𝑥 + 1) + (4𝑥 2 𝑦 + 6𝑥 − 3)
5 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 + 𝑥 𝑦 − 3𝑥 − 4𝑦(2𝑥 + 7𝑦)

• Product of polynomials
• Distributive property: (2𝑡 − 3)(5𝑡 2 + 3𝑡 − 1)
• Removing grouping symbols: 3 2𝑥 2𝑥 + 3 + 5 4𝑥 2 − 3 − 4𝑥

• Division of polynomials
• Dividing a multinomial by monomial (6𝑥 5 + 4𝑥 3 − 1)Τ2𝑥 2
• Long division (3𝑥 3 − 2𝑥 2 + 𝑥 − 3) ÷ (𝑥 + 2)
Operations with algebraic expressions
(cont.)
• Special products

• 𝑥 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑥𝑧

• 𝑥 + 𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑏 = 𝑥 2 + 𝑎 + 𝑏 𝑥 + 𝑎𝑏

• 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑐 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑑 = 𝑎𝑏𝑥 2 + 𝑎𝑑 + 𝑏𝑐 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑑

• (𝑥 ± 𝑎)2 = 𝑥 2 ± 2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑎2

• 𝑥 + 𝑎 𝑥 − 𝑎 = 𝑥 2 − 𝑎2

• (𝑥 ± 𝑎)3 = 𝑥 3 ± 3𝑎𝑥 2 + 3𝑎2 𝑥 ± 𝑎3

Factoring
• Factoring: the process by which an expression is written as a product of its factors

• Monomial factor

Factor −3𝑥 2 𝑡 − 3𝑥 + 9𝑥𝑡 2 .

• Factoring by grouping

Factor 5𝑥 − 5𝑦 + 𝑏𝑥 − 𝑏𝑦.

• Factoring a trinomial

Factor 𝑥 2 − 7𝑥 + 6.
Factoring (cont.)
• Rule for factoring

• 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑥𝑧 = 𝑥(𝑦 + 𝑧)

• 𝑥 2 + 𝑎 + 𝑏 𝑥 + 𝑎𝑏 = 𝑥 + 𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑏

• 𝑎𝑏𝑥 2 + 𝑎𝑑 + 𝑐𝑏 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑑 = 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑐 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑑

• 𝑥 2 ± 2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑎2 = (𝑥 ± 𝑎)2

• 𝑥 2 − 𝑎2 = 𝑥 + 𝑎 𝑥 − 𝑎

• 𝑥 3 ± 𝑎3 = (𝑥 ± 𝑎)(𝑥 2 ∓ 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑎2 )