Maths question (13 yr old home work!)

[Tiggsy]

OK.....did my GCSEs in 1990 and sure we didnt do this?????


What is factorise the following?

2X+6
8X-12
4X-20


Don't just want the answer (although it would help!) i need to know why....as she has a MILLION of these stupid questions!

I make a good living as an investment and tax consultant and have never factorised anything!!!

[jagracer]

Don't know the answer to them but it's a way of solving quadratic equations. Can someone tell me what a quadratic equation is please.

[4hero]

4

[Ultuous]

I make them:

2(x+3)
4(2x-3)
4(x-5)

This provides a more comprehensive explanation than I could

[dougc]

If I remember correctly, its all about getting multiples outside the brackets

for example

2X+6 becomes 2(X+3)

[Jasandjules]

Tiggsy said:

What is factorise the following?

That doesn't even make sense to me !

[Traveller]

Tiggsy said:

OK.....did my GCSEs in 1990 and sure we didnt do this?????


What is factorise the following?

2X+6
8X-12
4X-20

2(x+3)
4(2x-3)
4(x-5)

A very long time since I last did this, so probably completely wrong....

[Neil_H]

I think you have to simplfy it into brackets. Don't ask me how, it's been 15 years since I did anything like that.

[Tiggsy]

thanks to the above....i now get it (and realise she (and me) will NEVER use this again in real life!)

[rocksteadyeddie]

Tiggsy said:

thanks to the above....i now get it (and realise she (and me) will NEVER use this again in real life!)

Unless she becomes a maths teacher.

This is the problem with most education. Outside of academia its fking useless. e.g. -

Magnesium burns with what colour flame?
How is an oxbow lake formed?
Is your or you're the correct abbreviation of you are?

errrr...

[Tiggsy]

rocksteadyeddie said:

Unless she becomes a maths teacher.

errrr...

trust me......that aint gonna happen!

[MikeO996]

rocksteadyeddie said:

[Is your or you're the correct abbreviation of you are?

errrr...

Not knowing this will mark you for life - as will not knowing the difference between loose and lose, and holding your knife and fork in the wrong hands - rightly or wrongly people will label you as an ignoramus - and you might not get that top job.

Colour of magnesium flame??? - who gives a monkey's.

[deadmau5]

I think a megnesium flame is white IIRC

[otolith]

I would have thought that understanding that is a very basic bit of knowledge for anyone who uses algebra in their work - engineers, scientists, statisticians, economists, financial analysts...?

[Eric Mc]

So, the trick with modern maths teaching is for the questioner to write out an equation in a cackhanded manner and ask the student to work out what the questioner should really have done?

We were usually given proper questions like, in the following equation, work out the value of "x".

6X = (A + B) where A is 4 and B is 20)

[rocksteadyeddie]

Eric Mc said:

So, the trick with modern maths teaching is for the questioner to write out an equation in a cackhanded manner and ask the student to work out what the questioner should really have done?

We were usually given proper questions like, in the following equation, work out the value of "x".

6X = (A + B) where A is 4 and B is 20)

Ah, but you can't factorise 6X = (A + B) though

[cottonfoo]

Tiggsy said:

thanks to the above....i now get it (and realise she (and me) will NEVER use this again in real life!)

Unless she becomes a maths teacher

[john_p]

Oxbow lakes are pretty amazing, though.

[cottonfoo]

john_p said:

Oxbow lakes are pretty amazing, though.

The Orb track? I concur, good track

[Fish]

rocksteadyeddie said:

Eric Mc said:

So, the trick with modern maths teaching is for the questioner to write out an equation in a cackhanded manner and ask the student to work out what the questioner should really have done?

We were usually given proper questions like, in the following equation, work out the value of "x".

6X = (A + B) where A is 4 and B is 20)

Ah, but you can't factorise 6X = (A + B) though

Don't see why not it would be 6(x-4)