ALGEBRA CHEAT SHEET

LINEAR EQUATIONS 1) Point Slope Formula y y1 = m ( x x1 ) use when you have one point and the slope of the line if you have two known points, first find the slope and then apply this formula can be used for putting ordered pairs into standard form if you solve for y, then you can put into slope-intercept form (and then into standard form if you wish) 2) 3) 4) 5) Slope-intercept Formula y=mx+b use when you know the slope (m) and the y-intercept (b) if the equation is already in this form, then use to find the slope and the y-intercept use to draw a linear graph since you know one point and the slope Slope Formula m = y2 y1 / x2 - x1 rise over run (change in ys divided by change in xs) use when you need to find the slope of two points after finding the slope you can pick one of the points to develop the point slope formula, etc. Standard Form Ax + By = C can be derived from the point slope formula or the slope intercept formula when deriving from two points, it doesnt matter which point is used, the same standard form will result slope m = -A/B y-intercept b = C/B Parallel and Perpendicular Lines parallel lines have the same slope, perpendicular lines have negative reciprocal slopes

1)

FACTORING always factor first FOIL (first, outside, inside, last) 2) 3) Factoring Trinomials -in the form of: ax2 + bx + c multiply a and c find two factors of the product of a and c that equal b (watch signs) rewrite the middle term (b) as the sum of these two factors To group (if needed): group the first two terms and the last two terms take out the GCF of each group rewrite the answer as two grouped multiples check Perfect Square Trinomials (x + y)2 = x2 + 2xy + y2
2 2 2

(refer to square of a sum)

4) 5)

(x - y) = x - 2xy + y (refer to square of a difference) these are NOT differences of squares requirements: first term is a perfect square third term is a perfect square middle term is 2 or 2 times the product of the square root of the first and the square root of the last terms. Polynomials only combine LIKE TERMS watch negative signs distribute them appropriately Differences of Squares x2 y2 = (x y)(x + y) = (x + y)(x y) if the terms of the binomial have a common factor, factor out the GCF first Special Products square of a sum square of a difference difference of squares (x + y)2 = (x + y) (x + y) = x2 + 2xy + y2 (x - y)2 = (x - y) (x - y) = x2 - 2xy + y2 (x + y) (x - y) = (x - y) (x + y) = x2 - y2

6)

LAWS OF EXPONENTS X-a = 1/Xa (Xa) (Xb) = Xa+b (Xa)b = Xab Xa/Xb = Xa-b X0 = 1 (remember, anything to the zero power is ONE) 1) EXPONENTIAL FUNCTIONS General information: first factor the base so that you have like bases on each side of the equation then compare exponents to solve for the unknown QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS & EQUATIONS General information: Quadratic equations equal 0 while quadratic functions equal y have either 0, 1, or 2 roots roots (the solutions) are the points where the graph crosses the x-axis. Can be found by: graphing, or factoring and setting each factor equal to zero, or by using the quadratic formula the standard form is ax2 + bx + c resulting graph is a parabola with a minimum or a maximum the vertex is a minimum if the a coefficient is positive the vertex is a maximum if the a coefficient is negative Formulas and use: axis of symmetry x = -b / 2a use to find the x component of the vertex then substitute into original equation to find the y component defines the equation of the axis of symmetry quadratic equation x = -b +/- square root of b2 4ac / 2a use to find the roots to any quadratic equation watch the signs of a, b, c results will be undefined if the square root has a negative value under it discriminate b2 4ac use to determine if a quadratic is factorable if positive (2 solutions), if zero (one solution), if negative (no real solutions) RATIONAL EXPRESSIONS & EQUATIONS To simplify: use prime factorization to pair up like terms identify excluded values before canceling (those that make the denominator equal to ZERO meaning undefined) cancel out like terms To multiply:

1)

2)

Note use of square roots they are shown using the words square root.

first factor where possible and then cancel where possible (be careful with exponents) multiple straight across (dont leave anything out) reduce and simplify

To divide: flip the second term and follow multiplication rules To add and subtract expressions:

find a common denominator (LCD works best) by factoring each denominator change each expression into an equivalent one with the LCD by multiplying each term by a add or subtract and simplify

factor to produce the LCD Solving equations:

goal is to eliminate the denominators so identify the LCD and multiply each side of the EQUATION by the LCD to clear out the denominators solve for the variable (solutions that are excluded values are not actual solutions) resistance: series RT = R1 + R2 parallel 1/RT = 1/R1 + 1/R2 RADICAL EXPRESSIONS & EQUATIONS Pythagorean Theorem c2 = a2 + b2 where a & b are legs and c is the hypotenuse (if true then the triangle is a right triangle) Radical Expressions square root of ab = squate root of a X square root of b square root of a/b = square root of a / square root of b like radicands add or subtract the coefficients of the like radicands unlike radicands simplify to like radicands if possible, then add or subtract the coefficients of the like radicands multiply polynomials by CONJUGATE (similar to difference of perfect squares) Radical Equations equations with variables in the radicand isolate the radical with the variable to one side then square both sides distance formula use to find distance between 2 points on the coordinate plane

d = square root of (x2 x1)2 + (y2 y1)2 can be used to determine if a triangle is isosceles (2 equal sides) completing the square used to make a quadratic expression a perfect square find of b, square the result, add this result to the original expression be sure to add the resulting number to BOTH sides of the EQUATION