Today in Advanced math, we discovered that algebra is a process of breaking apart and putting back together. In fact, the word "algebra" came from the Arabic word "al jebr," which meant "reunion of broken parts." In the 1500s, it developed into the Medieval Latin word "algebra," which was also applied to bone-setting at the time, so again, we see that algebra is focused on breaking apart and putting back together.
We practiced this in class today by applying the Distributive Property to expand, factor, and simplify expressions so we could evaluate them more efficiently. Tonight's homework continues to focus on this concept, by using rectangles and area as a model. If there are questions about the homework, here are some resources to use:
https://learnzillion.com, type in code LZ3411 to watch a video lesson about the distributive property
http://www.mathsisfun.com/associative-commutative-distributive.html
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-factors-and-multiples/cc-6th-distributive-property/v/the-distributive-property
"algebra." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 24 Feb. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/algebra>.
