Algebra (NCTM)
Represent and analyze mathematical situations and structures using algebraic symbols.
Use symbolic algebra to represent situations and to solve problems, especially those that involve linear relationships.
Recognize and generate equivalent forms for simple algebraic expressions and solve linear equations
Grade 7 Curriculum Focal Points (NCTM)
Number and Operations and Algebra: Developing an understanding of operations on all rational numbers and solving linear equations
Students extend understandings of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, together with their properties, to all rational numbers, including negative integers. By applying properties of arithmetic and considering negative numbers in everyday contexts (e.g., situations of owing money or measuring elevations above and below sea level), students explain why the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with negative numbers make sense. They use the arithmetic of rational numbers as they formulate and solve linear equations in one variable and use these equations to solve problems. Students make strategic choices of procedures to solve linear equations in one variable and implement them efficiently, understanding that when they use the properties of equality to express an equation in a new way, solutions that they obtain for the new equation also solve the original equation.