Every rule the plots and drills lean on. One board, no guessing.
| Distributive property | a(b + c) = ab + ac. The outside factor visits every term inside. |
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| Combining like terms | Same letter part: add the coefficients. |
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| Solving linear equations | Undo in reverse order of operations, the same move on both sides every time. |
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| Product of powers | xa · xb = xa + b. Same base: add the exponents. |
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| Power of a power | (xa)b = xab. Multiply the exponents. |
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| Quotient of powers | Same base divided: subtract the exponents. |
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| Negative exponents | x−n means one over xn. A negative exponent is a reciprocal, not a negative number. |
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| Scientific notation | One digit, a point, and a power of ten carrying the size. |
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| Slope | Rise over run: the change in y divided by the change in x between two points. |
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| Slope-intercept form | y = mx + b. The m tilts the line, the b lifts it. |
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| Systems by substitution | Solve one equation for a letter, then trade it into the other. |
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| Systems by elimination | Line the equations up and add or subtract to cancel a letter. |
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| FOIL | Firsts, Outers, Inners, Lasts: how two binomials multiply. |
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| Factoring trinomials | Find the pair that multiplies to the last term and adds to the middle one. |
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| Difference of squares | a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b). |
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| Pythagorean theorem | a2 + b2 = c2, for right triangles only. |
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