So, today I am going to be explaining what would be a better deal-- a 33.8 oz (liter) bottle of mountain due, or a 12 pack.  I had to research the prices and figure out the total ounces.  Well, here is what I did to figure this out.
     First, I looked up the prices and found that a 12 pack is worth $2.99, and a 1 liter bottle is worth $.99.  Now, you have to remember that prices may vary depending on the store that you go to, to buy the soda.  Then, I did the math and found that a 12 pack of Mountain Dew would be a total of 144 oz.  A liter of Mountain Dew though, is only 33.8 oz.  So, round that to 40.  If you buy a 12 pack, you are getting about 104 ounces more for $2 more.  That would be a much better deal.  All in all, with the info I found, a 12 pack of Mountain Dew would be a better deal than a liter.

Welcome back!  I cannot believe it is the start of a new year and a new semester.  One thing that I am going to write about today is one thing I remember from the past semester is math.  Well, I remember practically the entire lessons we worked on.  I specifically remember one about distributive property and plugging in slopes to find an equation on a graph.
     Since I remember a lot from last semester I am going to explain how to do a problem that pretty much sums everything we learned up.  Here are the equations : y=1/2x-7       2y+4x=8 
There are two ways to solve this, you can plug it in or make a balance equation.
The balance equation would be : 1/2x-7 = 2y+4x=8
However if you plug it in like this : 2(1/2x-7)+4x=8, that makes it a lot easier.
     Now, to solve the problem, you can use either method.  I am going to use the plug in method.  First, you would distribute the 2 to 1/2x-7 and would end up with : x-14+4x=8.  Then, you would combine like terms.  Finish the problem from there and that explains what we learned in the past semester.

     Today I am going to talk about my biggest challenge in math that I have ever had.  I am also going to explain how I figured it out and what I did to get help.  Well, to start off, the most challenging topic in math that I have learned would probably have to be finding x and y with the graph AND equation.  Now I didn't really struggle with anything in math because math is my best subject, so I don't really have a topic that I didn't understand, but this one was the most difficult to learn and succeed in.
     Okay, well for algebra, we take mini quizzes every week to see if we are understanding a topic, and I didn't do so well on the test.  This was because the quizzes were reworded and that confused me a little bit.  However, the next day, we went over the quiz, and I had found my mistakes.  Now, almost everyone failed this quiz, but we always get three to four tries on the quizzes.  I was also planning to ask for help, but it was just a coincidence  that Mr. Erickson was going over it.
     It really helped that we went over the quiz in class because that night, I took the quiz b, and I earned a 100%.  So, moral of this post, if you EVER need help, you should just ask.  After all, you ARE smart, and I will bet that if you ask a question, you will be helping others too.  Some people are too afraid to ask, but I'm sure you are not the only one that doesn't understand it.

Today I am going to explain the Pythagorean theorem and how it works.  This method was actually created by a Greek man named Pythagoras.  When you are trying to find the area of a triangle, you can use this method to solve it.  Here is the Pythagorean equation and three other ways to write it. 

These are the four most common forms of the Pythagorean equation.

     Hmm. Square roots, or you might know them exponents.  Why are they called that?  That's a very good question.  Well, I think that they are called square roots because you are squaring the root.  I know that sounds stupid, so let me explain.  Say you are given the problem 5^2+30.  You would start solving that problem by multiplying 5x5 then adding 30.  See, the root number is 5, and you are squaring it which mean multiplying it by itself one time.  That is what the ^2 stands for.
     Now, you might be thinking "aren't they called exponents?".  Yes they are, that is another name for them.  Exponents are anything from 5^2, 5^3, 5^4, etc.  I am sure you have learned about them by now.  Exponents are very useful.  I'm sure you are probably saying to yourself "how?".  Well instead of writing out, say 5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5+18, you would write 5^10+18.  This makes it a lot simpler, and it takes a lot less time.

     Do you know why aa positive number is not equal to 0^- # is less that 1, but it is not negative?  For example 5^-2= 1/25. I think this it's basically talking about exponents. Yes, I know it sounds very difficult, but it really isn't.  When you get a negative exponent, you put a one over the oringinal number.
     For example 5^-2= 1/25.  You get this by doing the original problem, so in this case, you multiply 5^2.  Then you put a 1 over your answer which, for this problem, you would get 25.  After placing the one, you get the answer 1/25.  This is because the exponent was negative.

     Where have you seen exponents?  I have seen them in varios math problems; and I am pretty sure you have too.  Exponents are a simpler way of showing/telling you to multiply a specific number by its self so many times.  For example, in stead of writing 2x2x2x2, they would put 2 to the 4th power.  There are many times when you will see exponents.
     How are exponents useful in real life?  Well, they will help you in school.  As you go on, you will use exponents more and more.  I know that they may seem useless now, but trust me, there is a reason why your math teachers are teaching you exponents.  You may not see the ways that they will help you, but I am sure you will see why your teachers showed you exponents later in life.

     Over the weekend, we were required to play a math game in order to accomplish this blog post.  I had to play the game 3 different times.  At first, it was really confusing, but then I realized how you were supposed to figure it out.  All in all, it was confusing at first, but eventually really fun.
     While playing the game, I came across several difficulties.  I kept thinking that you were supposed to solve the problems left to right or up and down.  This was because I quickley read the directions and didn't think them through.  This just shows that reading directions is very important, and you should read them several times so you understand them clearly.
     After I eventually figured out what I was doing wrong, I had a blast with the game.  The first type that I did was integers.  After I had accomplished the integers with no mistakes, I went on to fractions.  Then, I did the money version of the game.  In conclusion, once I had figured out the game, it was simple and fun.

     Why do inequalities need closed dots instead of an open one?  Well the answer is very simple actually.  The truth is, not all inequlaities need a closed dot.  It depends on what the equation states.  For instance, if the problem said: If the high temperature for the day was 87 degrees, and the low was 45 degrees, what might've the temperatures throughout the day included.  The answer is simple.  It would've included everthing from 45 to 87 degrees; now that is including 45 and 87 so the dots would be closed, not opened.  
     However if the problem said: The wind speed was in between 12 and 20 mph throughout the night.  What speed would this might've included.  Now on this problem, the dots marking 12 and 20 wouldn't be closed dots because it is not including these two numbers.  I hope you now see my perspective on inequalities.

     Do you think that different methods have different uses?  I do.  I think that the whole point of methods is to have an easier way to find the answer of an equation or expression.  Some methods may work better for you than others.  Everyone is different, and your brains don't all think alike.  
     For example, to simplify the equation: 6x+2 is less than or equal to 3(2x+4), me and my partner Malaena use different methods to solve it.  I first distribute; then I get the x's on one side, and the units on the other.  However, she simplifies, then stops, since with this problem, you do not need to finish it.  All in all, peoples' brains think differently than others, so some methods will work better than others, for you.