How should i go about studying for algebra 1?

kevin: How should i go about studying for algebra 1?
Im in an algebra 1 honors class in 8th grade.This class is a honor class in high school.I have mid-terms coming up, and im having some trouble.Im not understanding what would be chapter 5 in my book which is: functions,linear functions,slope,y-intercept,standard form.MY MAIN problem is the slope and y-intercept form.Ive stayed after school and i still dont really understand it.ANY ideas how i should go about studying for the exams?ALSO some advice on how to find the slope and y-intercept.
EX: maybe make a problem and write out how to do it?
Thanks for any help!

Answers and Views:

Answer by MsMath
The slope is just the difference in the y’s divided by the difference in the x’s.
Suppose you are given two points, (1,2) and (3,4)
The slope will be (4-2)/(3-1) = 2/2 = 1

What if you are given a line instead of two points?
For example, find the slope of 5x – 7y = 11
To find the slope, you need to solve for y.
Subtract 5x from each side
-7y = -5x + 11
Divide both sides by -7
y = (-5/-7)x + 11/-7
y = (5/7)x – 11/7
The slope is the number in front of x, so the slope is 5/7

To find the y-intercept, you need to set x = 0 and solve for y.
Suppose you have the same equation as above.
5x – 7y = 11
Let x = 0
5(0) – 7y = 11
0 – 7y = 11
-7y = 11
y = -11/7
The y-intercept if (0,-11/7)

The best way to study for a (or any) math test is to work on some problems. You should try the odd problems, because the solutions to those are usually in the back of the book. That way, once you’ve finished a problem, you can check to see if you did it right.
Maybe you can ask your teacher for some additional problems with solutions. That way if you make a mistake, you can look at the solution to find where you went wrong.

Answer by Gray
I agree with MsMath for I dealt with the exact same problem. I would always look over the examples, for they are the gist of the chapter, save the advanced problems. I believe the most important part of math is believing in oneself that you can do the work. Once I started believing that, studying became much easier, for I didn’t have to worry about the result, because I knew I would be fine.

Answer by Sarah N
This is the way that my teacher put it.

y=mx+b

m is the slope, b is the y-intercept.

When finding the y intercept, start at the origin and move up or down according to your number. If it’s -4, go down four spaces. If it’s 3, go up three spaces.

Once you find that, find your slope. The rule is rise over run. If you have just a solid number, like 5 or 2 or something, then put it over 1. If everything’s positive, go up however many is in the top of the fraction and to the right for every one on the bottom or down and to the left. If it’s negative, go down and to the right or up and to the left.

Slope is easy once you figure it out. It’s much easier with pictures, though. IM me and I could help you on Doodle or something.