Algebra made Easy. Math concepts for kids

An introduction. Short, animated video that provides an overview. Ideal for learners and teachers. Uses storytelling and real world examples to explain the subject. Narrated by a young learner.


A famous philosopher once said, "Wherever there are numbers, there is beauty" .....

One of the first things we learn as children is how to count.
As time passes, we move onto advanced math topics.
So at any point you could be learning Geometry or Trigonometry or Calculus or Algebra or even a combination of these topics.

In this video I will talk about Algebra, a KEY mathematical topic.

First, let us focus on the word Algebra.
What does it mean? Where does it come from?

The word Algebra has its origins in Baghdad and this was many many years ago.
The word algebra comes from an Arabic book whose title is:

Al Kitab al mukhtasar fi hisab al gabr wal muqabala.

This title is the source of the word: Algebra

So what does the title mean?
The English translation of the title is : The book on calculation by completion and balancing.

Now let us look at a few more definitions:

Algebra is putting real life problems into equations and then solving them.
That does not say much does it? So let us take a simple real world example:

A clown was invited to perform at a birthday party.
The clown arrived in the party with 18 balloons.
On the way to the birthday party 7 balloons got blown away.
So how many balloons did the clown have in the beginning?

Algebra helps us arrive an answer. Let us see how?

Let us denote this unknown number with an alphabet.
You can use any alphabet but a common one is the alphabet 'X'.

Now X gets reduced by 7 since 7 balloons were blown away. Let us write this down:

After this happened the clown was left with 18 balloons.

So X -7 = 18.

What we have here is an equation with 1 unknown number.

Using a bit of mathematical magic , we can now say:

X = 18 + 7

Or

X is equal to 25.

25 IS THE NUMBER OF BALLOONS THE CLOWN HAD IN THE BEGINNING.

Since this example is fresh in our minds, let us look at another definition of Algebra.

Algebra is about finding unknowns. It is the branch of mathematics that substitutes letters for numbers.

Finally, Algebra is the beginning of a journey that gives you the skills to solve more complex problems.

So play with Algebra and you will surely be rewarded.

Thank You.



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