Week 1 Assignment Part #1 Use the Language of Algebra

Find Factors, Prime Factorizations, and Least Common Multiples

The numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 are called multiples of 2. A multiple of 2 can be written as the product of a counting number and 2.

Multiples of 2: 2 times 1 is 2, 2 times 2 is 4, 2 times 3 is 6, 2 times 4 is 8, 2 times 5 is 10, 2 times 6 is 12 and so on.

Similarly, a multiple of 3 would be the product of a counting number and 3.

Multiples of 3: 3 times 1 is 3, 3 times 2 is 6, 3 times 3 is 9, 3 times 4 is 12, 3 times 5 is 15, 3 times 6 is 18 and so on.

Counting Number	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Multiples of 2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24
Multiples of 3	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	24	27	30	33	36
Multiples of 4	4	8	12	16	20	24	28	32	36	40	44	48
Multiples of 5	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60
Multiples of 6	6	12	18	24	30	36	42	48	54	60	66	72
Multiples of 7	7	14	21	28	35	42	49	56	63	70	77	84
Multiples of 8	8	16	24	32	40	48	56	64	72	80	88	96
Multiples of 9	9	18	27	36	45	54	63	72	81	90	99	108

The counting numbers from 2 to 20 are listed in the table with their factors. Make sure to agree with the “prime” or “composite” label for each!

This table has three columns, 19 rows and a header row. The header row labels each column: number, factors and prime or composite. The values in each row are as follows: number 2, factors 1, 2, prime; number 3, factors 1, 3, prime; number 4, factors 1, 2, 4, composite; number 5, factors, 1, 5, prime; number 6, factors 1, 2, 3, 6, composite; number 7, factors 1, 7, prime; number 8, factors 1, 2, 4, 8, composite; number 9, factors 1, 3, 9, composite; number 10, factors 1, 2, 5, 10, composite; number 11, factors 1, 11, prime; number 12, factors 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, composite; number 13, factors 1, 13, prime; number 14, factors 1, 2, 7, 14, composite; number 15, factors 1, 3, 5, 15, composite; number 16, factors 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, composite; number 17, factors 1, 17, prime; number 18, factors 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, composite; number 19, factors 1, 19, prime; number 20, factors 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, composite.

To write algebraically, we need some operation symbols as well as numbers and variables. There are several types of symbols we will be using. There are four basic arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We’ll list the symbols used to indicate these operations below.

Operation Symbols

Operation	Notation	Say:	The result is…
Addition	a+ba+b	aa plus bb	the sum of aa and bb
Subtraction	a−ba−b	aa minus bb	the difference of aa and bb
Multiplication	a⋅b,ab,(a)(b),a·b,ab,(a)(b), (a)b,a(b)(a)b,a(b)	aa times bb	the product of aa and bb
Division	a÷b,a/b,ab,baa÷b,a/b,ab,ba	aa divided by bb	the quotient of aa and b;b; aa is called the dividend, and bb is called the divisor

On the number line, the numbers get larger as they go from left to right. The number line can be used to explain the symbols “<” and “>”.

Inequality

For a less than b, a is to the left of b on the number line. For a greater than b, a is to the right of b on the number line.

Inequality Symbols

Inequality Symbols	Words
a≠ba≠b	a is not equal to b.
a<ba<b	a is less than b.
a≤ba≤b	a is less than or equal to b.
a>ba>b	a is greater than b.
a≥ba≥b	a is greater than or equal to b.

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