Basic Numeracy: Beginner's Guide to Mathematics

Learn what a variable is, how symbols like x and y stand in for unknown values, and how variables are used in solving problems and performing operations.

Learn to add and subtract variables by grouping like terms, combining coefficients, and handling non-like terms and fractions in expressions with x and y.

Master multiplying and dividing expressions by applying exponent rules, coefficients, and base manipulation, while using foil method and quotient rules to simplify expressions with x and y.

Explore exponents and the laws of exponents, applying product and quotient rules to simplify expressions, move exponents between numerator and denominator, and relate fractions to decimals and square roots.

Learn circumference as the distance around shapes, using formulas two pi r and pi d, and calculate it for rectangles, triangles, half circles, and irregular shapes, in metric units.

Explore surface area concepts and compute areas for common shapes—rectangle, circle, and triangle—using base times height, pi r^2, and careful radius/diameter handling.

Calculate volumes of prisms and cylinders using V = l × w × h and V = πr^2h. Highlight radius, diameter, and unit consistency across centimeters and meters.

Explore expressions as combinations of variables and constants, with step-by-step simplification, expanding brackets, combining like terms, and factoring common factors.

Define equations and the equals sign, and learn to solve for the unknown by moving terms between the left-hand side and right-hand side.

Learn how to change the subject of a formula by isolating variables using algebraic steps, with examples for velocity, distance, and financial formulas.

Explore the two-dimensional Cartesian plane, its perpendicular x and y axes, the origin, and how coordinates place points into four quadrants with positive and negative values.

Explore the Cartesian plane, axes, and how coordinates, with x first and then y, locate points across quadrants, using integer and fractional examples.

Explore straight lines on the Cartesian plane by plotting coordinates, calculating the gradient and intercept, and deriving the equation y = mx + c from two points.

Plot straight lines from equations using y = mx + c, convert forms like 3y+3x=12, and identify x- and y-intercepts on the Cartesian plane.

Learn how to calculate simple interest and future value using the formula F = P(1+rt), with present value, rate, and time, through examples of investments and calculating doubling time.

Learn how compound interest grows investments using the future value formula and compare it to simple interest, exploring monthly, quarterly, and daily compounding effects.

Explore annuities by showing how regular monthly payments grow toward a future value with interest and monthly compounding, using a 150,000 rand goal in 20 years.