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Algebra equation tool online

Sorry for a few days sans posts, and sorry that you’ll probably see a few more of them as Joe and I prepare to set sail for the Caribbean where internet access costs will be extremely prohibitive!

So, I’ll leave you with something that should keep you and your kids entertained for about a week or so.

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives has a few very cool interactive algebra tools online.

My personal favourite is the equation solver, which is done by first setting up your equation by creating a “balanced scale” (I often wonder, do kids today even know what those kinds of scales are anymore, or have they become an anachronism?) and then performing mathematical operations to both sides to discover the missing value for x. Of all the interactive websites I’ve seen to visually represent the process of solving equations, this one stands out as my favourite. (If you have others you’d like to share, simply leave a link in the comment field below.)

You can choose the option to use negatives or simply work with positive numbers (two different links) so even if your child doesn’t yet have experience with negative numbers, you can let him/her loose on the site and see whether he/she is ready for this tool.

Also, be sure to check out “Stick or Switch” which is “The Monty Hall Problem” and an excellent introduction to simulations.

One caveat: I was thoroughly unimpressed with the “Function Machine” and I hesitate to recommend it simply because at no point does it ever reveal what the function in use actually was.  And, the two times I tried it, the function machine was using (only because I know how to figure out the function myself) first a quadratic function and then secondly an exponential function — not exactly easy for your child to discover on their own.  (The patterns, yes.  The actual functions, no.) So, use this as a number pattern recognition game perhaps, but unfortunately it will not help teach “functions.”  (How can one learn about functions if you never see the function in use by the machine?)

So, be sure to visit the Algebra equation solver, either with negatives or without negatives, the “Let’s Make a Deal” simulation, and whatever other puzzles from the list you find interesting.  I’ll see you in early February!

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