Help

[izzieamy]

if a=2 b=5 and c=10

whats 2a=10

how cani teach my daughter this ?

do you do 2 squared or do u add 2 =2 ??

xxx

[Buenchico]

Well I taught maths for 15 years and you've managed to confuse me!

Firstly, b and c don't seem to have anything to do with your question (since you state their values but then never mention them again!).

Then you state something which totally contradicts the original information. 2a means '2 times a' and, since a =2, 2a must be equal to 4, not 10.

Typing out maths notation, here on AB, can be very difficult. If you've got a scanner, please scan the actual page with the question on, and save your image as a jpg file. Then upload the picture to here:
http://www.tinypic.com/
(It's incredibly easy to do that. Just click 'Browse'. Navigate to the file's location on your hard drive. Double click on the file. Click 'Upload Now')
Then highlight the 'direct link' (by dragging your cursor over it while holding down the left button). Right-click on it and select 'copy'. Come to this thread and click 'Post an answer'. Right-click in the text area and select 'paste'. Click 'Submit'.

When you've done that, we'll be able to see exactly what the question says, so that we can provide an answer.

Chris

[Lil O'lady]

Izzy - is there any chance that the question has got muddled up?
2a means 2 multiplied by a.
If you have been given the info that a=2, then 2a means two times two ie four.

It strikes me that 2a=10 is a separate problem.

If this is the case, to explain these kind of equations to your daughter, tell her that the equals sign is special. Any time a process such as add or times crosses that line, it has to do its own opposite.
So add becomes minus, multiply becomes divide.

Then set down each stage of the problem underneath in a line with the equals always in the middle, so the child can see the important role of the equalks sign. Bit difficult on AB! dead easy with pen and paper.

The equation 2a=10 can be solved by making 'a' stand on its own on one side of the equation, so you are just left with 'a= whatever'. So:

2a=10 go to the next line to move the 2 away from 'a'

a= 10 divided by 2
(this is because the 2 was multiplying before we moved it across the equals sign)

so a=5 because that's what 10 divided by 2 makes.

[DGITM]

This is impossible!

Like has been said, 2a means 2x2 which is obviously 4 and does not equal 10!

Surely it meant what is 2a - 10?

[abay]

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