McGraw-Hill Education GRE 2019

Algebra

Study this chapter to learn about:

■ Linear equations

■ Exponents and roots

■ Quadratic equations

■ Formulas, functions, and sequences

■ Inequalities and absolute value

I

n broad terms, you can think of algebra as any situation where you manipulate

an equation or inequality to solve for one or more unknown values. An

unknown value is a variable (such as x or y) or an expression (such as a + b

or cd). Before diving into manipulating equations and inequalities, you will first

look at the basic mathematical operations.

Linear Equations

PEMDAS

PE M DAS is a helpful acronym for remembering the proper order of operations.

When working with an expression that contains only values (no variables), you

must perform the operations in the order dictated by PEMDAS. The following

question would require proficiency with PEMDAS:

(8 + 1)^2 divided by 3 × (5 + 2) =?

Before answering this question, let’s review what each letter in PEMDAS stands

for. The acronym PE M DAS represents Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/

Division, Addition/Subtraction.

When evaluating an expression, you must use the order as dictated by

PEMDAS. However, note that there is no priority between multiplication and

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