Math Mammoth Linear Equations 1 focuses on the linear equations of the types px + q = r and p(x + q) = r and best suits 7th grade mathematics studies. The book assumes that the student has already learned to solve simple one-step equations (for example −6x = 24 or x + 9 = −2). The equations in this book go one step further from that, into equations that typically require two steps (occasionally more) to solve and may contain parentheses. The next step after this book (in 8th grade or in an algebra 1 course) is to learn to solve complex, multi-step linear equations — yet the beauty of mathematics is that even those complex equations will be able to be reduced to these simpler forms covered in this book. The book contains several lessons where we focus writing an equation for a word problem. Students solve these word problems both using arithmetic and using an equation, comparing the solution steps. There is also another lesson on patterns of growth, which may seem to be simply a fascinating topic, but in reality presents the fundamentals of a very important concept in algebra―that of linear functions (although they are not mentioned by that name). After the section about equations, the text presents the basics of inequalities and how to graph them on a number line. Students apply the principles for solving equations to solve simple inequalities and word problems that involve inequalities. The equations in this book are limited in complexity, with the variable on one side only, and usually only requiring two (sometimes three) steps to solve. In 8th grade, or in an algebra course, students solve multi-step linear equations, including those with the variable on both sides of the equation, thus completing their understanding of how to solve linear equations.