In mathematics, the word "is" does not always lead to an equal sign. We use statements with boundaries all the time. A student must be at least sixteen to drive. A suitcase can weigh no more than fifty pounds. A temperature may stay below freezing. Each statement tells us what values are allowed. That's the job of an inequality. An inequality puts a boundary on what a value can be. Consider: x > 5 The number 5 is the boundary. The statement tells us that x can be any number g

What “Is” Is Students often think the equal sign means, “Write the answer next.” That makes sense when most of the problems they have seen look like this: 4+5=___ They add the numbers, write 9 after the equal sign, and move on. After enough practice, the equal sign starts to feel like a direction instead of part of the mathematics. Then algebra changes the format. We use the word "is" all the time to connect an idea with something that is true about it. The temperature is 72

Some math facts need to become automatic. By the time they take Algebra, students should know: Multiplication tables Perfect squares through 20 (1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225, 256, 289, 324, 361, 400) Perfect cubes through 10 (1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 789, 1000 Prime numbers through 19 (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19) Powers of two (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048) These facts appear often enough that memorizing them saves

Welcome to The Process Learning Company. I’m Monica Mynk, a veteran high school math and science teacher and college professor. I founded The Process Learning Company to help students work through difficult concepts using clear, manageable steps rather than disconnected rules to memorize. Here you’ll find practical teaching strategies, student support, tutoring information, and step-by-step resources for secondary math and science. One of the most basic questions I ask myself