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Algebra
How to Add and Subtract Fractions in Algebra (Video)
In algebra, adding and subtracting fractions is easy when you find the common denominator. This video shows you how to convert fractions for the common denominator. After you determine the common denominator, you can add and subtract fractions, including story problems, with ease. [more…]
Calculus
How to Find the Volume of a Solid with a Circular Cross-Section (Video)
Calculus allows you to calculate the volume of conical objects by dividing the object into an infinite number of circular cross-sections - geometrical shapes resembling pancakes or washers - and adding up the volume of all those cross-sections through integration. This video tutorial shows you how. [more…]
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Geometry
Mastering the Formal Geometry Proof
Suppose you need to solve a crime mystery. You survey the crime scene, gather the facts, and write them down in your memo pad. To solve the crime, you take the known facts and, step by step, show who committed [more…]
Geometry
Sizing Up the Area of a Polygon
Not only can polygons be classified by the number of sides they have and by their angles, but they can also be grouped according to some of their qualities. Polygons can have three personality characteristics [more…]
Geometry
Simple and Easy Geometry Tips and Tools
The first rule of life? Life (as well as geometry) can be difficult. But why make it more difficult than it has to be? Do you need help with geometry? Here are 11 tried-and-true tips to make your forays [more…]
Geometry
Measuring and Making Angles
On a map, you trace your route and come to a fork in the road. Two diverging roads split from a common point and form an angle. The point at which the roads diverge is the [more…]
Geometry
Classifying Three Types of Triangles
Triangles are classified according to the length of their sides or the measure of their angles. These classifications come in threes, just like the sides and angles themselves. That is, a triangle has [more…]
How to Find the Sum of Two Cubes
Spotting a distribution that results in the sum of two cubes is a shortcut to solving distribution problems. To recognize what distribution results in the sum of two cubes, look to see if the distribution [more…]
How to Find the Difference of Two Cubes
An expression that results in the difference between two cubes is usually pretty hard to spot. The difference of two cubes is equal to the difference of their cube roots times a trinomial, which contains [more…]
How to Round Off Decimals and Fractions
You can simplify decimals and fractions by rounding off. To round off a decimal number, you limit the number of decimal places that the number holds. To round off a fraction, you first convert the fraction [more…]
How to Factor Out Numbers
Factoring is the opposite of distributing. When distributing, you multiply a series of terms by a common factor. When factoring, you seek to find what a series of terms have in common and then take it [more…]
How to Factor Out Variables
You can factor out variables from the terms in an expression. You factor out variables the same way as you do numbers except that when you factor out powers of a variable, the [more…]
Factoring Binomials
If a binomial expression can be factored at all, it must be factored in one of four ways. To decide which way you will use, you first look at the addition or subtraction sign that always separates the [more…]
Solving Absolute-Value Equations
A linear absolute value equation is an equation that takes the form |ax + b| = c. Taking the equation at face value, you don’t know if you should change what’s in between the absolute value bars to its [more…]
How to Solve Linear Equations with Division
A basic method for solving linear equations is to divide each side of the equation by the same number. Many formulas and equations include a coefficient, or multiplier, with the variable. To get rid of [more…]
How to Solve Linear Equations with Multiplication
To solve linear equations with multiplication, you first determine that division is being used in the linear equation. Multiplication is the inverse (opposite) operation of division, so you can use multiplication [more…]
How to Identify a Quadratic Expression
You can identify a quadratic expression (or second-degree expression) because it's an expression that has a variable that's squared and no variables with powers higher than 2 in any of the terms. [more…]
How to Solve Linear Equations with Both Multiplication and Division
Often, you need to use both multiplication and division to solve a linear equation. When a linear equation uses both multiplication and division, you solve by using the inverse operation of each. So, if [more…]
How to Factor an Expression Taking out the Greatest Common Factor
You can factor a quadratic expression to make it easier to work with. Some quadratic expressions can be made better by finding a greatest common factor [more…]
Applying the FOIL Method to Binomials
When you multiply two binomials, you can use the FOIL method. The letters in FOIL refer to two terms — one from each of two binomials — multiplied together in a certain order: [more…]
How to Multiply Binomials Using the FOIL Method
The FOIL method lets you multiply two binomials in a particular order. You don't have to multiply binomials by following the FOIL order, but it does make the process easier. The letters in FOIL refer to [more…]
How to Factor a Trinomial by UnFOILing
UnFOILing is a method for factoring a trinomial into two binomials. When you multiply two binomials together, you use the FOIL method, multiplying the [more…]
How to Factor Expressions More Than Once
Sometimes you factor expressions more than once — and with different factoring techniques. To determine if an expression needs to be factored more than once, just take another look at the expression after [more…]
How to Solve Linear Equations with Reciprocals
You can use the reciprocal of the number that you’re trying to “get rid of” if a fraction is multiplying the variable. You solve linear equations with reciprocals when you see a fraction — it's easier [more…]
How to Unevenly Group Four Terms for Factoring
Sometimes in factoring, four terms can be separated into uneven groupings with three terms in one group and one term in the other. Unevenly grouping four terms for factoring can be applied to expressions [more…]
How to Factor the Sum of Two Perfect Cubes
The rule for factoring the sum of two perfect cubes is almost the same as the rule for factoring the difference between perfect cubes. You just have to change two little signs to make it work. The sum [more…]
How to Factor the Difference of Two Perfect Squares
If two terms in a binomial are perfect squares separated by subtraction, then you can factor them. To factor the difference of two perfect squares, remember this rule: if subtraction separates two squared [more…]
How to Add Fractions
Adding fractions is easy if the denominators are the same, but adding fractions with different denominators requires care. If you set up an algebraic equation to add fractions with different denominators [more…]
How to Factor the Difference of Two Perfect Cubes
To factor the difference of two perfect cubes, remember this rule: the difference of two perfect cubes equals the difference of their cube roots multiplied by the sum of their squares and the product of [more…]
How to Group Six Terms for Factoring
You can group terms for factoring in expressions where the terms don't share a common factor or common variable. When grouping six terms for factoring, there’s the chance that the groups can be two groups [more…]
Order of Operations in Algebra
Solve algebra problems correctly by following the order of operations. When performing more than one operation on an algebraic expression, work out the operations and signs in the following order: [more…]
Algebra Formulas Worth Memorizing
Some formulas occur frequently when you're doing algebraic manipulations and working through mathematical applications. You'll find ways to use these algebra formulas even when you're doing something other [more…]
