Linear Equations

• You may want to tell students to think of the y-axis as the start of a skateboard course. The direction and steepness of lines as they cross the y axis indicate what kind of ride they'll have. A line with positive slope will be a workout, because they'll have to work their way uphill. A line with negative slope will be a free ride, because they're heading downhill.

• Remind students about all the ways you can indicate multiplication (2x, 2 x and 2(x)) and division (x ÷ 2, x/2, and 1/2 x) because they'll probably encounter them all as they work through various linear equations. Encourage them to stay away from the multiplication symbol because it can easily be confused with a variable.

• You may want to share the slang expression for slope: rise over run. Rise, in this case, means change along the y axis, while run means change along the x axis.