Dugopolski: Elementary

Algebra, Third Edition

Back Matter

Definitions, Rules and

Formulas

The McGrawHill
Companies, 2002

DEFINITIONS, RULES, AND FORMULAS

Subsets of the Real Numbers

Exponents

Natural Numbers 1, 2, 3, . . .
Whole Numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
Integers . . . 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
a
Rational a and b are integers with b 0
b
Irrational x x is not rational

a0 1
r

1
1
a r r
a
a
a ra s a rs
(a r )s a rs
a r ar
r
b
b

Properties of the Real Numbers

For all real numbers a, b, and c
a b b a ; a b b a Commutative
(a b) c a (b c); (ab)c a(bc) Associative
a(b c) ab ac; a(b c) ab ac Distributive
a 0 a ; 1 a a Identity
1
a (a) 0; a 1 (a 0) Inverse
a
a 0 0 Multiplication property of 0

1
a1
a
1
r
ar
a
ar
s a rs
a
(ab)r a rbr
a r
b r

b
a

Roots and Radicals

n

ab a b

a a

n
b b

Factoring

Absolute Value
a

a for a 0
a
for a 0

Order of Operations
No parentheses or absolute value present:
1. Exponential expressions
2. Multiplication and division
3. Addition and subtraction
With parentheses or absolute value:
First evaluate within each set of parentheses
or absolute value, using the order of operations.

a mn (a ) am

a1n a

a 2 2ab b2 (a b)2
a 2 2ab b2 (a b)2
a 2 b 2 (a b)(a b)
a 3 b3 (a b)(a 2 ab b2)
a3 b3 (a b)(a 2 ab b2)

Rational Expressions
c
a
ac

b b
b
ac a

bc b
a c
ac

b d bd
a c
If , then ad bc.
b d

c
a
ac

b b
b
c
a
ad bc

b d
bd
a
c
a d

b d b c

Dugopolski: Elementary
Algebra, Third Edition

Back Matter

Definitions, Rules and

Formulas

The McGrawHill
Companies, 2002

Quadratic Formula

Variation

The solutions to ax bx c 0 with a 0 are given by the

formula

Direct: y kx (k 0)
k
Inverse: y (k 0)
x
Joint: y kxz (k 0)

b b
2
a
4c
x .
2a

Equations of Lines
Slope Formula
The slope m for the line through (x1 , y1) and (x2 , y2) is given by
y2 y1
m
,
x 2 x1
provided x1 x2.

Slope-intercept form: y mx b
Slope: m
y-intercept: (0, b)
Point-slope form: y y1 m(x x1 )
Slope: m
Point: (x1, y1)
Standard form: Ax By C
Horizontal line: y k
Vertical line: x k

Linear Function

Metric Abbreviations

f(x) mx b with m 0

Length

Volume

Weight

Graph is a line with slope m.

mm millimeter
cm centimeter
dm decimeter
m meter
dam dekameter
hm hectometer
km kilometer

mL milliliter
cL centiliter
dL deciliter
L liter
daL dekaliter
hL hectoliter
kL kiloliter

mg milligram
cg centigram
dg decigram
g gram
dag dekagram
hg hectogram
kg kilogram

Quadratic Function
f(x) ax 2 bx c or y ax 2 bx c with a 0
Graph: parabola opening upward if a 0,
downward if a 0
Vertex: lowest point on a parabola opening upward,
highest point on a parabola opening downward

English-Metric Conversion
Length

Volume (U.S.)

Weight

1 in. 2.540 cm
1 ft 30.48 cm
1 yd 0.9144 m
1 mi 1.609 km

1 pt 0.4732 L
1 qt 0.9464 L
1 gal 3.785 L

1 oz 28.35 g
1 lb 453.6 g
1 lb 0.4536 kg

Simple interest: I Prt and A P Prt, where

Length

Volume (U.S.)

Weight

I is the amount of interest, r is the annual interest

rate, and t is the time in years

1 cm 0.3937 in.
1 cm 0.03281 ft
1 m 1.0936 yd
1 km 0.6215 mi

1 L 2.2233 pt
1 L 1.0567 qt
1 L 0.2642 gal

1 g 0.0353 oz
1 g 0.002205 lb
1 kg 2.205 lb

b
First coordinate of vertex:

2a

Interest Formulas
A amount and P principal

Compound interest: A P(1 i)n, where n number of

periods and i interest rate per period