We all know that algebra uses letters. But there are many more fun things that can be done with letters. For example….playing scrabble!
An architect named Alfred Butts invented the game Scrabble. Apparently, he decided on how many tiles for each letter to include, and what their value should be after analysing the front page of the New York Times. Over 150 million copies have been sold around the world, as it is such a popular game. Line up all the scrabble tiles ever produced next to each other, and they would stretch for more than 50,000 miles….and counting. Every single hour over 30,000 games of scrabble are beginning.
If you want to be sure of winning – try using the word “oxyphenbutazone”. Using this word, one man hit 3 triple word scores, while also making seven crosswords downwards!! If you are not so sure of longer words, try using one of the 124 two-letter words allowed. These two-letter words use all letters of the alphabet except V. Each year, the scrabble dictionary allows new words. Some words recently added are “bae”, “vax”, “deepfake” and a word you may well recognise from the Simpson’s – “embiggen”
Don’t struggle with algebra. To help you understand it more, try Part 2 of our “How to” Algebra guides. This section provides guidance on powers and roots, and explains how to expand single, double and triple brackets. Try some example questions at the end of the power point, with answers included so you can check your understanding.
Click on the picture below to view our guide.
Come back and check our blog page for more resources to help you improve your understanding of different topics in various subjects. Part 3 of our “How to work with Algebra” guide will be out next week, with support on factorising expressions.
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