Quantitative Section

ALGEBRA

What is Algebra?

Algebra is the science of unknown quantities. Therefore, letters such as x or n may

be used to represent such variables.

For example, if Pam has 5 more pencils than Fred. This statement can be
represented by using the following algebraic expression;
P=F +5
for which
P is the number of pencils that Pam have
F is the number of pencils that Fred have

Manipulating Algebraic Expressions

Algebraic expressions can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided exactly like
numbers. The following examples show how it is possible to manipulate algebraic
expressions.

Example
Add the following two algebraic expressions: 2 x + 5 y 2 + 3 and 3 x 2
+ 2 y 2 1 .
The addition = (2 x + 5 y 2 + 3) + (3 x 2 + 2 y 2 1)
= (2 x + 5 y 2 + 3 + 3 x 2 + 2 y 2 1
= 2 x + 7 y2 + 3 x2 + 2

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 Example
Subtract the following two algebraic expressions: 2 x + 5 y 2 + 3 and 3 x 2 + 2 y 2 1 .
The subtraction = (2 x + 5 y 2 + 3) (3 x 2 + 2 y 2 1)
= (2 x + 5 y 2 + 3 3 x 2 2 y 2 + 1
= 2 x + 3 y2 3 x2 + 4

Example
x2 + 2
Multiply the following two algebraic expressions:
2 x + 3 and x 2 + 2 . 2x+3
2
The Multiplication = (2 x + 3)( x + 2) 2 x3 + 4 x
= 2 x3 + 4 x + 3 x 2 + 6 3 x2 + 6
= 2 x3 + 3 x 2 + 4 x + 6 2 x3 + 4 x + 3 x 2 + 6

Example 2x+3
Divide the algebraic expressions 2 3 2
x + 2 2 x + 3x + 4 x + 6
2 x 3 + 3 x 2 + 4 x + 6 by x 2 + 2 . 2 x3 + 4x

2 x3 + 3 x 2 + 4 x + 6 3 x2 + 6
The division = 3 x2 + 6
x2 + 2

= 2x+3
0

Example 2x+8
2
Divide the algebraic expressions 2 x 2 + 10 x + 3 by x + 1 . x + 1 2 x + 10 x + 3

2 x3 + 3 x 2 + 4 x + 6 2 x2 + 2 x
The division =
x2 + 2
8x +3
= 2x+3
8x +8
Therefore,

2 x 2 + 10 x + 3 5 The quotient = 2 x + 8
= (2 x + 8) 5
x +1 x +1 The remainder = 5

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Simplifying Algebraic Expression

There are different ways for simplifying algebraic expressions. They are:
(a) Simplification by merging (adding subtracting) similar terms.
(b) Simplification using the common factor.
(c) Simplification by factorising quadratic terms.
(d) Simplification by squaring both sides (this is used if one of the terms contains
square root).
It is suggested to use the above order in simplifying any algebraic expression.

(a) Simplification by adding similar terms

For example,
3x + 5 y = 2x + 7 y
This expression can be reduced by collecting similar terms in the side left or right,
as follows;
3 x 2 x = 5 y + 7 y
Then adding the similar terms
x=2y

Another example could be

5x y 3y x = z
Here by rearranging the 2nd term to be
5x y 3x y = z
It is obvious now that the 1st and 2nd terms are similar, therefore, this expression can
be reduced to be
2x y= z

(b) Simplification using the common factor

For example,
9 x 3 y = 10
It is obvious here that 3 is a common divisor for both 1st and 2nd terms, therefore
3 (3 x y ) = 10

Another example could be 5 x 2 y + 10 x y 2 = 7

Again, 5 x y are common divisor for both 1st and 2nd terms, therefore
5 x y ( x + 2 y) = 7

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 (c) Simplification by factorising quadratic terms
In order to understand this point, it is required to review the following topics:

(i) Factorising quadratic expression

Any quadratic expression in the form,
a x2 b x c = 0
can be factorised according to the following roles;
(1) If x 2 a x + b = ( x m)( x n)
such that m n = b and m + n = a
(2) If x 2 a x b = ( x + m)( x n)
such that m n = b , m n = a and the greatest number m or n takes the sign of
the middle term.

Example
x 2 + 5 x + 6 = ( x + 3) ( x + 2)
x 2 5 x + 6 = ( x 3) ( x 2)
x 2 + 5 x 6 = ( x + 6) ( x 1)
x 2 5 x 6 = ( x 6) ( x + 1)

(ii) Factorising difference between two squares

Any quadratic expression in the form of difference between two squares can be
factorised as follows,
x 2 y 2 = ( x y )( x + y )

Example
a+b
If 2 = 1 , find b in terms of a.
a b

By factorising the denominator, then

a+b
=1
(a + b)(a b)
1
Therefore, =1
ab
This gives a = b

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 (d) Simplification by squaring both sides
In case of the existence of square root in one of the terms in the algebraic equation,
it is recommended to get rid of it by simply squaring both sides.

Example
Find the quadratic expression of the following equation, 2 x +1 = x .

The term includes the square root 2 x MUST be in one side and all the other terms
in the other, i.e.
2 x = x 1

Now, it is possible to square both sides, as follows

2 x = x2 2 x + 1

Therefore, the quadratic expression has the following form

x2 4 x + 1 = 0

Solving Linear Equations

Linear equations are algebraic expressions with unknown variables that have unity
power, for example:
5 x + 4y = z
is linear equation since all the variables have power equal to 1, however
5 x + 4 y2 = z
is nonlinear or quadratic equation since one of the variables has power equals to 2.

In order to solve linear equation, there are two important conditions, they are:
1- The number of given linear equations MUST equal the number of unknown
variables.
2- The given linear equations should be homogeneous, i.e. the equations should
give different constraints.

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 (a) Solving linear equations with one unknown
In order to solve a linear equation in one unknown (i.e., to find the value of the
unknown that satisfies the equation); the unknown should be isolated on one side
of the equation, while the rest of the terms be transformed to the other side.

It is convenient to note here that to solve one equation in one unknown, only one
equation is required.

Example:
5x 6
=4
3
By multiplying both side by 3, then
5 x 6 = 12
5 x = 12 + 6
Finally, dividing both sides by 5, therefore
12 + 6 18
x= = = 3.6
5 5

Example:
Find the value of variable x in terms of y for the following expression
10 x y 2
= 3x + 5 y
2

The problem is tricky since it looks like quadratic. YES, it is quadratic but the
examiner asks about the variable x in terms of the other variables. Therefore, it is
possible to deal with the other variables as constants (i.e. forget about their
power). By multiplying both sides in the equation by 2, therefore
10 x y 2 = 6 x + 10 y
10 x 6 x = 10 y + y 2
Therefore,
4 x = 10 y + y 2
Then
10 y + y 2
x=
4
This gives the value of variable x in terms of y.

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 (b) Solving two linear equations with two unknown
In order to solve two unknown, it is required to have two equations, otherwise
infinite solutions will arise. WHY?

Once more, it is very important to verify that the two given equations are
homogeneous. In order to understand this point, study the following example.

Example
x + 3y = 5
2 x = 10 6 y
First it is important to rewrite the equations such that all the unknowns in the L.H.S,
as follows
x + 3y = 5
2 x + 6 y = 10

It is obvious that the 2nd equation can be reduced to take the same form of the 1st
equation. Therefore, the 2nd equation does not add any new information to solve for
the second unknown. Therefore, these two equations are said to be inhomogeneous
equations. Therefore, no solution can be obtained.

In order to solve two equations in two unknowns, there are two methods. They are:
1- Substitution
2- Simultaneous

These two methods will be discussed in the following example

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 Example
Given the following two equations,
2x + 3y =8
9x =3+ 3y
Find the value of x and y.

First, make sure that all the unknown variables are in the same L.H.S in both
equation and verify that they are homogeneous. Also, reduce the equations by taking
any common factor, as follows
2x + 3y =8
9x 3y =3
The second equation can be reduced by taking a common factor of 3, as follows
2x + 3y =8 2x + 3y =8
Or
3 (3 x y ) = 31 3 x y =1
The solution can be carried out by using the two solutions depicted in the next table,
Substitution Simultaneously
The two equations are now: Here, one of the variables can be
2x + 3y =8 eliminated, as follows,
3 x y =1 2x + 3y =8
Use the simplest equation to get one 3 x y =1 3
variable in terms of the other, as follows This gives
3x y =1 therefore y = 3 x 1 2x+3y =8
Then by substituting into the other 9 x 3y =3
equation,
2x+3y =8 By adding both equations, the
2 x + 3 (3 x 1) = 8 2 x + 9 x 3 = 8 variable y can be eliminated, and then
Then by adding similar terms 11 x = 11
11 x 3 = 8
Therefore 11 x = 8 + 3 or 11 x = 11 Therefore, x = 1
Then, x =1
By using any of the above equation, the Then y can be obtained as follows
value of y can be obtained, as follows y = 3 x 1
y = 3 x 1 = 3 1 1
= 3 1 1
Therefore, y = 2
Then, y=2

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Solving Quadratic Equations

Quadratic equations are those algebraic expressions that have at least one term with
power 2. There are several methods to solve quadratic equations, only one method
called "factoring" is considered here since the other topics are beyond the GMAT
requirement.

The key to solve any quadratic equation is:

1- avoid cancelling any unknown.
2- make the equation in the form of zero-equation.

Example
x2 = 2 x

First of all, DO NOT try to cancel the unknown x. Then, transform all the terms
even those contain the unknown x to the L.H.S, as follows
x2 2 x = 0

It is obvious that the variable x is common, therefore

x ( x 2) = 0

Since the multiplication of quantities equals to zero, then one of them should be
equal to zero, i.e.
x=0
x2=0

Therefore, the solution set of the given quadratic equation is x = {0, 2}

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 Example
30 x = 9 x 2 + 3 x 3

In this example, all the terms should be in the same L.H.S such that terms arranged
in order, as follows
3 x 3 + 9 x 2 30 x = 0

There is a common factor 3 x , therefore

3 x ( x 2 + 3 x 10 x) = 0
which can be factorised as
3 x ( x + 5) ( x 2) = 0

Since there are three quantities of product zero, then one of them should equal to
zero, i.e.
x=0
x+5 = 0 x = 5
x2=0 x=2

Therefore, the solution set is x = {0, 5, 2} .

Exponents

Exponents are used to represent the product repetitive of a certain variable or

number, i.e.
x5 = x x x x x

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 There are some rules about exponents, they are;
1- x a x b = x a+b , for example x 2 x 3 = x 5
xa x7
2- b = x , a b
for example 3 = x 4
x x
a a a
3- x y = ( x y ) , for example 34 5 4 = (3 5) 4 = 15 4
a
x xa
4- = a
y y
5- (x a ) = x ab
b

6- x = a = , for example 33 = 3 =
a1 1 1 1
x x 3 27
0 0
7- x = 1 , for example 7 = 1
1 1

8- x = x , for example 8 = 3 8 = 2
a a 3

b 3
9- x a = (a x ) , for example 4 2 = (2 4 ) = 2 3 = 8
b 3

Example
Find the value of 91.5 .

In order to apply the previous rules, it is required to change the power from decimal
format to fraction, as follows
15 3
9 1.5
= 9 10 = 92 = (2 9 )3 = 33 = 27

Exponents

An inequality is an algebraic expression that uses the following symbols;

not equal to
> greater than
greater than or equal to
< less than
less than or equal to

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 Solving inequalities is similar to solving linear equations. However there are three
rules should be taken into consideration, they are:
(1) When reversing a fraction, the symbols (> and ) should be changed to (< and
)
for example
3 1 2 3
> , however <
2 3 3 1
(2) When multiplying both sides by ve sign, the symbols (> and ) should be
changed to (< and )
for example
5 < 1 , however 5 > 1
(3) When taking the square roots of both sides, two solution arise, as follows
(x 5)2 > 4
therefore, x 5 > 2 and x 5 < 2
then x>7 and x<3

Example
If x is an integer, find its value given that
5 x 3 > 2x
62x > 0
5 x 3 > 2x 6 2x > 0
5x 2x > 3 2 x > 6
3x > 3 x >1 x > 3 x<3

Since 1 < x < 3 , therefore the only available integer for x is 2. Then x = 2

Example
1
Find the smallest possible integer of x if +46
2x

The solution can be carried out as follows

1 1
2 2x , Dividing both sides by 2, then
2x 2
1
x=
4
Therefore, the smallest possible integer of x is x = 1
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Absolute Value

The absolute value of x is denoted x . There are two rules for solving algebraic
expression with absolute notation, they are
(1) In the case of equality, if
x = a , then
x=a or x = a
(2) In the case of inequality, if
x < a , then
x<a or x > a

Example
Find the value of x, if x 2 1 2

This inequality can be written as

x2 1 3 x2 1 3
x2 4 x2 4
This gives This gives
x2 or x 2 x2 or x 2

This means that all the real numbers on the number lines satisfy the above
inequality.

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Functions

Function is an algebraic expression in one variable, such as

f ( x) = x 3 5 x 2 + 2
or
2z +7
g ( z) =
z 1

Function notation provides a short way of writing the result of substituting a value
for a variable. If x = 1 is substituted in the first expression, the result can be written
f (1) = 13 5 12 + 2 = 1 5 + 2
= 2
and f (1) is called the "value of f at x = 1 ". It is useful to think about function f (x) as
an output of an input variable x.

The set of all allowable inputs for a function is called the domain of the function.
For function f above, the domain is the set of all real numbers on the number lines.
However, the domain of function g is all the real numbers except 1. WHY?

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