x+(x-3)+(2x)=25

DAnDan said:
What age would kids to this at? I'm guessing around 11 years old?
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I think you could teach this level of algebra to primary school children to be honest. As it has been pointed out the brackets aren't required at all.

It breaks down to a few simple skills, eg if you can solve each of the following you can do the OP's question as it's just a combination of these sort of things.

x + 1 = 5
x - 3 = 7
x + x = 10
2x = 20
 
geuben said:
I'm surprised with a C grade you didn't know how to do that. Especially with the answer given so you know if you went wrong or not when you finished. Good on you for trying to change that though.
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I can't actually remember much maths at all since my adult life has so far required knowing nowt more than how to add vat to the stuff I flog!

This is the first maths I've looked at since leaving school- rather shamefully :o

For reference heres the paper: http://web.archive.org/web/20100601060757/http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gcse/qp-ms/AQA-4306-1H-W-QP-JUN09.PDF
 
I am approaching retirement and it concerns me somewhat that this is actually a problem! :eek:

(on another note, Is there a way of posting more complex maths functions/equations on this board?? If so, how do you do it? )
 
shuzzbutt said:
lol I got this from the 2009 gcse higher maths paper!
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Dude - in 2009 I was 36 and it had been 19 years since I'd been at school studying maths / algebra on a regular basis and I haven't really used it since so give me a break - huh :p

shuzzbutt said:
I saw the foundation paper which kicked off with a question about reading the time of a clock face :eek:
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Now that I'm fairly confident I could manage :D
 
SlyReaper said:
Not sure if serious. If serious, then how are you able to function in day-to-day life without the ability to add and subtract? I'm genuinely curious.
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it's not the difficulty that scares people, it's a confidence thing. if you can imagine a real life example with the same equation almost everyone can solve it
 
shuzzbutt said:
lol I got this from the 2009 gcse higher maths paper!

I saw the foundation paper which kicked off with a question about reading the time of a clock face :eek:
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It might be on the paper, but it's definitely not taught at the upper end of GCSE Maths.

As has been said, it's basically just the tools that are taught in primary school.
 
bazaarboy said:
it's not the difficulty that scares people, it's a confidence thing. if you can imagine a real life example with the same equation almost everyone can solve it
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That's my opinion too, especially with this question. The brackets made it look harder than it actually is, for a few seconds I wondered if the OP had miss-posted and it should have expanded to a quadratic.

I bet most people could do a real world problem with this level of algebra in. say:

If a can of paint covers 20m of wall, how many cans do I need to cover 100m of wall.

That could easily be written as the equation 20x = 100
 
bazaarboy said:
it's not the difficulty that scares people, it's a confidence thing. if you can imagine a real life example with the same equation almost everyone can solve it
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I agree with this- you guy's have come on here and made me see how simple this actually is. However, looking at it on my own, those brackets really threw me. I think I'm going to WHS tomorrow to pick up a maths text book and dust some serious cobwebs off my brain :)
 
shuzzbutt said:
I agree with this- you guy's have come on here and made me see how simple this actually is. However, looking at it on my own, those brackets really threw me. I think I'm going to WHS tomorrow to pick up a maths text book and dust some serious cobwebs off my brain :)
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good for you ;)

here's the same equation put differently:

I bought eggs sold in a new kind of packaging.

There's one full pack on the left, one pack missing 3 eggs and two full packs on the right. In all I have 25 eggs. How many eggs per pack?

So I have 3 full packs in total plus another missing three.
If I had 4 full packs I'd have 28 eggs, so 7 in a pack...
 
bazaarboy said:
good for you ;)

here's the same equation put differently:

I bought eggs sold in a new kind of packaging.

There's one full pack on the left, one pack missing 3 eggs and two full packs on the right. In all I have 25 eggs. How many eggs per pack?

So I have 3 full packs in total plus another missing three.
If I had 4 full packs I'd have 28 eggs, so 7 in a pack...
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You should shop elsewhere if you packets of eggs have some missing. :p
 
geuben said:
I bet most people could do a real world problem with this level of algebra in. say:

If a can of paint covers 20m of wall, how many cans do I need to cover 100m of wall.

That could easily be written as the equation 20x = 100
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This is true - when you display the equation / sum in that style of format it becomes so much more simpler.

Oh and my answer:

5 cans dude - though being a Fifer I'd buy 6 (just to be on the safe side) keep the receipt and return the last one for my money back :p
 
A* at GCSE Maths and that took me a moment to figure out how to solve it.

The problem with this stuff at GCSE level is that it is taught in a way designed just to get you to pass exams. In the real world calculations are not presented in that way. Its not until you start applying the Maths in further education which starts to split into physics and things that you start to apply real world meaning to the processes you learn in isolation at an earlier stage. The problem with this is that for those people who don't carry on learning maths, or whos heads don't work without attaching things to meaningful principles, the knowledge is forgotten.
 
HangTime said:
Depends on how your brain is wired I guess - I end up just converting such 'real world scenarios' back into equations :)
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You're quite right there too - not maths related but I often find myself trying to turn a problem at work on it's head and thinking "what would I do if I were in XYZ's shoes" or "what would happen if . . . . .. "

At the risk of sounding very Gus Hedges and thinking outside the box I guess it is all down to the individuals interpretation of the problem at hand.

beamer said:
The Khan Academy videos are very good for those struggling with Algebra. Well worth checking out ...
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Got a few of those bookmarked already - thanks for the linky though :)
 
Orionaut said:
I am approaching retirement and it concerns me somewhat that this is actually a problem! :eek:

(on another note, Is there a way of posting more complex maths functions/equations on this board?? If so, how do you do it? )
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there's no inbuilt function for this no. However if you want to start up a thread in GD around maths problems and setting questions to other forum users, then you are more than welcome too :)
 
SlyReaper said:
Not sure if serious. If serious, then how are you able to function in day-to-day life without the ability to add and subtract? I'm genuinely curious.
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I never usually have to solve equations like that in real life, and I always use a calculator. I am a programmer but I don't really write very mathematical programs, its all logic.

I understand what its wanting me to do, but unless someone gives me all the steps I need to take, I have no idea how to solve it.

It took me like 3 or 4 re-takes's to get C in GCSE Maths.
 
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