The Mystery of Missing Numbers
A Mathematical Adventure in Mathland Year 6 Mathematics Solving Equations and Inequalities
Meet Our Mathematical Heroes
Variable: A letter (like x or y) that can change values Constant: A number that never changes (like 5 or 10) Coefficient: The number that tells Variable how many times to count itself
Welcome to Mathland
A magical place where numbers and letters live together Mathematical operations happen everywhere Every problem is an adventure waiting to be solved Our friends love solving equation mysteries
What Do You Think?
Look at this equation: 3x + 4 = 13 What do you think x could be? How might we find out for sure?
The First Mystery Begins
Variable x discovers a mysterious equation: 3x + 4 = 13 The number 3 is the Coefficient (in red) The number 4 is the Constant (in green) Variable x wants to find its true value (in blue)
Identify the Parts
Look at: 3x + 4 = 13 Point to the Coefficient Point to the Variable Point to the Constant What does each part do?
Step 1: Remove the Constant
Variable thinks: 'I need to get rid of the Constant 4' Subtract 4 from both sides of the equation 3x + 4 - 4 = 13 - 4 This simplifies to: 3x = 9
Practice the First Step
Try this: 2x + 5 = 11 What should we subtract from both sides? What do we get after subtracting? Work with a partner to solve
Step 2: Deal with the Coefficient
Now we have: 3x = 9 Coefficient 3 says: 'Divide both sides by me!' 3x ÷ 3 = 9 ÷ 3 This gives us: x = 3
Variable's Discovery
'The mystery is solved! I am 3!' - Variable x
Check Our Answer
Let's verify: if x = 3, then... 3(3) + 4 = ? 9 + 4 = 13 ✓ Our mystery is truly solved!
A New Adventure: Inequalities
Now Variable wants to try something new The problem is: 2x - 5 > 7 This is called an inequality The > symbol means 'greater than'
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