Originally Posted by ultramarina
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Like if the fee for signing up for cable is 30.00 and it costs 40.00 per month, is that a better deal for a year than satellite which costs 200 to start and 15.00 per month?

Do we really consider this high school algebra?

I do.

You can use simple arithmetic to figure out the first-year cost, but that's not the best question, because what if the first-year cost is greater for one option, but you plan to move out in six months? For optimum financial planning, you want to figure out how long you'd have to commit to the satellite service before it becomes the cheaper option.

So, in this specific example, 40m + 30 = 15m + 200, solve for m. That looks like Algebra I to me.

Originally Posted by ultramarina
Actually, DD is learning basic algebraic concepts in 4th grade math right now. (If vase #1 has 4 flowers, and vase #2 has 8, and vase #3 has 12, construct an expression that represents the number of flowers in any vase...something like that).

I think teaching the language of algebra at an early age is a good thing, because many kids who fail algebra do so because they can't make the conceptual shift of using letters to stand in for unknown or varying values. But let's not confuse language with understanding and applying the rules and concepts to solve problems.