CHAPTER ONE

BASIC ALGEBRA
Learning Objective: Apply algebra skills in solving business problems

Specific Leaning Outcomes:

At the end of this topic the learners should be able to:
i) use exponential functions in solving business problem
ii) Use logarithmic function in solving business problem
iii) Apply permutations and combinations techniques in business
iv) Use binomial expansions in solving business problem

1 Chapter Introductions
The applications of basic algebra concepts extend beyond mathematics. They are vital tools in fields
such as science, engineering, finance, computer science, and statistics, where they help solve
practical problems, make predictions, and simplify complex calculations. Moreover, they form the
foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts and techniques. Understanding these algebraic
concepts is essential for building a strong mathematical and analytical skill set that can be applied in
numerous real-world scenarios

1.1 Exponent
An exponent refers to the number of times a number is multiplied by itself. Whenever we use expressions like
53 or 25 we are using exponents. The symbol 25 means 2×2×2×2×2. This symbol is spoken as ‘two raised to
the power five’, ‘two to the power five’ or simply ‘two to the five’. The expression 25 is just a short hand way
of writing ‘multiply 2 by itself 5 times’. The number 2 is called the base, and 5 the exponent. Similarly, if b is
any real number, then b3 stands for b × b ×b. Here b is the base, and 3 the exponent.

If n is a whole number, bn stands for b × b × b ×…× b (n factors). We say that bn is written in

exponential form, and we call b the base and n the exponent, index or power of b, and bn is called a
power.
Special names are used when the exponent is 2 or [Link] expression b2 is usually spoken as ‘b
Squared’, and the expression 𝑏3 as ‘b cubed’.

1
Example 1: Indicate power, base and exponent from the expression below
2
1. 35 1 3
4. (2)
−3
2. 5

3. (𝑛 + 1)𝑘
Solution
1. 35 is the power, 3 is the base and 5 is an exponent

2. 5−3 is the power, 5 is the base and -3 is an exponent

3. (n + i)k is the power, (𝑛 + 1) is the base and 𝑘 is an exponent

2
1 3 1 1
4. ( ) is a power, is a base and is an exponent
2 2 2

Laws of Exponents
1. Product Rule:
When performing multiplication with two numbers expressed in exponential form and having the
same base, the procedure involves adding their exponents
am × an = am+n
Example 1: Find
n
1 1
1. y  y 2.
3 7
  
8 8

Solution
1. Use b m  b n  b m  n 2. Use b m  b n  b m  n
y 3  y 7  y 3 7  y10 n
1 1 1
n 1

      
8 8 8
2. Division Rule:
When dividing two numbers expressed in exponential form with identical bases, we determine the
result by subtracting their respective exponents.
𝑎𝑚 ÷ 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚−𝑛
Example 1: Find
n
1 1
1 y y7 3
2 .  
8 8

Solution
1. Use b m  b n  b m n y 7  y 3  y 7 3  y 4
2
 n n 1
1 1 1
2. Use b  b  b
m n m n       
8 8 8
3. Power Rule:
To raise a number in exponential form to a power, we multiply the exponents.
(𝑎𝑚 )𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚𝑛
Example 1: Find

1. y  3 5
0.3 
2
3 3
2.
Solution

1. Use b m   n
 b mn 2. Use b m   n
 b mn

y 
3 5
 y15 0.3 
2
3 3
 0.3
2

4. Expanded Power Rule:

Multiplication off actors with different bases
(𝑎𝑏)𝑛 = 𝑎𝑛 𝑏 𝑛

5. Expanded Quotient Rule:

Division off actors with different bases
𝑎 𝑛 𝑎𝑛
(𝑏 ) = 𝑏 𝑛

16
Example: Simplify the following expression
32
2
16  4 
Solution:  
32  3 

Special Case of Exponential Expressions

6. Negative Exponents:

If a factor in the numerator or denominator is moved across the fraction bar, the sign
of the exponent is changed
1 1
If, x  0, a  n  n
, and a n  n
a a
3
Example: Express the following powers using positive exponent, a 7
1
Solution: a 7 
a7

7. Zero Exponent Rule:

Any base (except 0) raised to the zero power is equal to one
In general b 0  1 if b  0
Example: Simplify the following a 3  a 3
bm
Solution: Use n
 b mn
b
a3
 a  = 1 (using b 0  1 )
0

a3
8. Exponential expression in radical form:

x 
1
n m
 m xn

9. Equal Exponential Expressions

If𝑋𝑚=𝑋2, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑚=2

That is, two equal exponential expressions have the same base and the same exponent.

Exercise 1.1

1. Indicate the power, base and exponent in the following

1 3
a) x 5 b) ( )
xn
2. Simplify

27 n  2  6  33n 3
2 2 2
1 1  3 4
a) .      b).  ( )  c).
2 4  4  3n  9 n2

2y y
1 1 1
3. Solve for y if       3  5 y 
 9 3 27

27 n  9 n 1
4. If 3n  2 , Find the value of
812 n

4
5. Solution for x from
( 3 x 1) x
1 1
i) 2 x
8 x 2
 32 x 2
ii)   1 iii)    811
3  3

6. If (2 x 1 )(3 y 1 )  (3 4 )(2 5 )
x
Determine the values of i) x + y ii).
y
Logarithms
Definition of the logarithm
The logarithm of a number to a given base is the index or the power to which the base must be
raised to produce the number, i.e., to make it equal to the given number.
For exponential equation y  a m is written as
log a y  m

Read as ‘m’ is a logarithm of “y” base “a”

We see that the logarithm is the same as the power or index in the original expression.
It is the base in the original expression which becomes the base of the logarithm.

The following are equivalent statement

i) 64=82 equivalent to log864= 2
ii) log327=3 equivalent to33=27

Example 1: Express the following in the logarithmic form

1
 5 3
125
1
Solution log 5  3
125

Example 2: Find the value of x, log x 0.00001  5

Solution log x 0.00001  5

Exponent form 10 5  x 5
x  10

5
1. Special cases of logarithm
1) If, log log m m  1 then m x  m1 which gives x = 1.
The logarithm of a number to the same base is always 1 because any number raised to the
power of 1 is the number itself.
2) If logm m p  p logm m
This law states that the logarithm of a number raised to an exponent is equal to the
exponent times the logarithm of the base number
3) If logm m p  p logm m = p

2. Logarithm of the product

This law states that the logarithm of the product of two numbers is equal to the sum of the
logarithms of the individual numbers
log a XY  log a X  logY

Example 1: Find
1. log 2 (32  16)
2. log( 0.00001  100)
Solution
1. Use log a XY  log a X  log a Y

log 2 (32  16)  log 2 32  log 2 16 2. log (0.00001  100)  log 10 5  log 10 2

 log 2 2 5  log 2 2 4  5 log 10  2 log 10

 5 log 2 2  4 log 2 2 log( 0.00001  100)  3

log 2 (32  16)  9

3. Logarithm of a quotient
This law states that the logarithm of the quotient of two numbers is equal to the difference of the
logarithms of the numerator and the denominator
X
log a  log a X  logY
Y
Example 1: Find
1. log 2 (32  16) 2. log( 0.00001  100)
6
 Solution
2) log (0.00001  100)  log 10 5  log 10 2
1) log 2 (32  16)  log 2 32  log 2 16
 5 log 10  2 log 10
 log 2 2  log 2 2
5 4

 5  2
 5 log 2 2  4 log 2 2
log( 0.00001  100)  7
log 2 (32  16)  1

4. Logarithm of a power
This law states that the logarithm of a number raised to an exponent is equal to the exponent times
the logarithm of the base number.
loga A C  cloga A

Example: Find the value of log 4 64 5

Solution: Use loga AC  C loga A

log 4 64 5  5 log 4 64

log 4 64 5  5 log 4 4 3

log 4 64 5  15

Logarithm of the Root

1
n
xx n

1
log a n x  log a x
n

1
Example: Find the value of log 3
27
1
Solution: Use log a n x  log a x
n
3
1 12
log 3  log 3  
27  3

 
3
1
log 3  log 3 3 1 2
27
7
 1 3
log 3 
27 2

Law of change of base

log 𝑥 1
i) log 𝑦 𝑥 = log𝑏 𝑦 ii) log𝑥 𝑦
= log 𝑦 𝑥
𝑏

Example

Example: Find the value of log 3 12

log 10 12
Solution: log 3 12 
log 10 3

8
Logarithms to the Base 10

A common logarithm has a fixed base of 10. The common log of a number n is expressed
as𝑙𝑜𝑔10𝑛or simply log 𝑛.
Common logarithms are also known as decadic logarithm and decimal logarithm.
If log𝑛=𝑥, then we can represent this logarithmic form in exponential form as 𝑛=10𝑥

Logarithm to the base 𝒆

Logarithm to the base of 𝑒 is called the natural logarithm. The logarithm of x to the base 𝑒 is
written as log𝑒𝑥 or simply ln 𝑥. If ln 𝑥 = 2, then we write in exponent form as 𝑥 = 𝑒2
All rules of algorithm apply in similar fashion as for base 10 or any other base 𝑎.
The special cases are ln 𝑒 = 1, ln 1 = 0 and 𝑒ln 𝑥= 𝑥
Exercise 2
1. Solve for y from the following
3
i) log 25 y =
2
ii) 2 log y  log 4  log( 2 y  3)
iii) log( y  27)  log y  1
2. Evaluate without using mathematical table
2 log 5  log 36  log 9

3. 2log40 + log 81 - 2log12

4. Solve for x; log 10 x  log 10 ( x  1)  1
2𝑎−2 𝑎2 +𝑎
5. Show that log 𝑎 ((3 − ) )=1
𝑎+1 5

Permutations and Combinations

The study of permutations and combinations is concerned with determining the number of different
ways of arranging and selecting objects out of a given number of objects, without actually listing
them. There are some basic counting techniques which will be useful in determining the number of
different ways of arranging or selecting objects. Therefore, it is worth to understand the
Fundamental Principle of Counting before discussing permutations and combinations.

9
Fundamental Principle of Counting
There are two fundamental rules of counting or selection based on the simple principles of
multiplication and addition, the former when events occur independently one after another, and the
latter when either of the events can occur. At times we have to combine the two, depending on the
nature of the problem. We can state the principle as follows:

If one thing can be done in m ways and when it has been done in any of the m ways, a second thing
can be done in n ways, then the two things together can be done in 𝑚× 𝑛ways.

Example
A boy has 4T-shirts and [Link] possible outfits the boy has.

Solution:
According to the question, the boy has 4 t-shirts and 3 pants. So, the total number of outfits with the boy is:
Total number of outfits = 4 x 3 = 12 boy has 12 outfits with him.

Application of Fundamental Counting Principle

By applying the fundamental counting principle in questions related to possible arrangements of a
given set of objects, we can derive formulae for permutations and combinations as discussed below:

Suppose 5 boys A, B, C, D, and E are to be seated on a couch in a row. Then in how many possible
ways can they be seated? Suppose that Boy A=event A, Boy B=event B and soon. So, for event A,
we have five possible options, for the event B, we have four possible options, for the event C, we
have three possible options, for the event D, we have two possible options and one option for the
event E.
By the rule of counting principle to calculate the total number of ways, we multiply the possibilities
of each event. In this case the total number of possible outcomes is
5× 4×3×2×1=120

This is also known as permutation, and it is an application of the counting principle.

Factorial Notation
For any non-negative integer n, n!, called“ n factorial,” is defined as
𝑛! =𝑛×(𝑛−1)×…× 2 × 1
With special case 0! = 1.
10
From this case it follows that
𝑛! = (𝑛−1)!
𝑛! = (𝑛−1)(𝑛−2)!
𝑛! = (𝑛−1)(𝑛 −2)…(𝑛−𝑟+1)(𝑛 −𝑟)!

Therefore, the product of the first n natural numbers, that is, 1, 2, 3,…,n, is called factorial n
Or n factorial and is written as n!

Arranging ‘n’ unlike objects in a line

The number of ways of arranging ‘n’ unlike objects in a line is given by n!

Example 1
Number of ways of arranging 5 people in a row
5! = 5x4x3x2x1= 120

Example2
Number of ways of arranging letters ABC

A B C
A C B
B A C
B C A
C A B
B B A

Therefore, the number of arranging3lettersis3! =3×2× 1=6

Activity 1
How many ways are there to arrange 6 books on a shelf?

Arrangement of Objects some being a Like (similar)

Arrangement of n objects of which p are like, q are like, r are alike, is given by

n!
n Pr 
p!q!r!

Example 1
Find the number of arrangement of the letters of the word “DIFFERENT”
Solution
The number of permutations is
11
 n!
n Pr 
p!q!r!
9!
n
pr 
2!2!
n
p r  90,720

Permutation of n different things

A permutation of n different objects takes r times is an arrangement of r out of n objects while
paying attention to the order in which r objects are arranged.

Arrangement of an unlike objects taken r at a time is given by

n!
nPr 
n  r !

The number of permutations of ‘n’ different things taken ‘r’ at a time in which each thing are
repeated ‘r’ times in any arrangement is given by

nPr  r n

Also n Pr denoted as n Pr , or P(n, r )

Example 1
There are 4 seats on a bench; in how many ways can 9 people be selected on the beach?
Solution
n!
Number of ways is n
Pr 
n  r !
9!
9
P4 
9  4!
9  8  7  6  5!
9
P4 
5!
9
P4  3024
Example 2
How many three letter “words” can be formed using 8 letters if
a) Repetition is not allowed
12
b) If repetition is allowed

Solution
a) Without repetition
n! b) With repetition
n
Pr 
n  r ! n
Pr  n  (n  1)(n  2)
8!
8
P3  8
P3  8  8  8
8  3!
8
P3  512
8
P3  336

Exercise2
1. How many ways can the following words be written?
a) MOROGORO
b) MATHEMATICS
c) DIFFERENTIATION
d) HOROHORO
2. A store has 8 regular doorways and 5 emergency doors which can be opened only from the
inside. In how many ways can a person enter and leave the store?
3. Six officials of a company are to fly for a conference in Dhaka. Company policy states that
no two can fly on the same plane. If there are 9 flights available, how many flight schedules
can be established?
4. How many different numbers of 3 digits can be formed from the digits1, 2,3,4,5 and 6, if digits
are not repeated? What will happen if repetitions are allowed?
5. There are 6 books on Economics, 3 on Commerce and 2 on Mathematics. In how many ways
can they be placed on a shelf if books on the same subject are to be together?
6. How many arrangements of the letter of the word MOBILE can be made if they owls are to
appear only in the odd places?
7. A family of 4 brothers and 3 sisters is to be arranged in a row for photograph. In how many
ways can they be seated if all the sisters sit together?
8. Find the value of ‘r’ if 12Pr=1320.
9. In how many ways can seven supervisors and six engineers sit for a round table discussion so
that no two supervisors are sitting together?

13
Combination
A combination is the grouping or selection of all or part of objects in a group of n objects
irrespective of the order in which the objects appear in the selection.

In permutations the objects are based on the order of the arrangements where each change in order
constitutes a different arrangement. Therefore, combinations are groups which can be made by
taking some or all of things at a time.

The number of combinations of n different things taken r, (where r ≤ n), at a time is given by

Example 1:
Two letters out of four letters A, B, C, D are selected at random. How many ways can this be done?
Solution:

AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD. i.e. 6 combinations or selection

n!
Using the formula, C r 
n
use n = 6 and r = 2
( n  r )!r!
4!
4
C2 
( 4  2)!2!
4  3  2 1
4
C2 
2  1 2  1
4
C2  6

Example 2:

In a certain organization three top leaders are to be chosen from 5 people. How many ways can this
be done?

Solution:
Combination 3 out of 5 people
Using the formula,
n!
n
Cr  where n = 5 and r = 3
( n  r )!r!
14
 5!
5
C3 
(5  3)!3!
5  4  3  2 1
5
C3 
2  1 3  2  1
5
C3  10

Exercise3
1. In how many ways can 8 players be chosen from 10 players?
2. In how many ways can a committee of 6 men and 4 women be formed out of 15 menand8
women?
3. Find the numbers of ways in which a committee of 5 people can be formed out of a group of
persons containing 5 Tanzanians and 4 foreigners so that in each committee there are not more
than 3 people from any nationality?
4. In how many ways can 4 white and 3 black balls be selected from a box containing 20 white
and 15 black balls?
5. From 7 BACC students and 5 BBF students a committee of 5 is to be formed. In how many
ways can this be done so as to include at-least one BACC student?
6. A cricket team consisting of 11 players is to be formed from 16 players of whom 4 can be
bowlers and 2 can keep wicket and the rest can neither be bowler nor keep wicket. In how
many different ways can a team be formed so that the teams contain (i) exactly 3 bowlers and
1 wicket keeper, (ii) at least 3 bowlers and at least 1 wicket keeper?
7. In an examination, a candidate is required to answer 6 out of 12 questions which are divided
into two group search containing 6 questions and he is not permitted to attempt more than 4
questions from each group. In how many ways can he make up his choice?
8. A committee consists of 5 members is to be formed out of 6 men and 4 women. How many types of
committees can be formed so that at least 2 women are always there?

15
Binomial Expansions
A binomial expansion is the expression which has two terms, added or subtracted, which are raised
in a given power.

Example (x +y)n or (a+ b)n are binomial expressions

Consider the following expansion

a  b0  1

a  b1  ab

a  b2  a 2  2ab  b 2

a  b3  a 3  3 a 2 b 3 ab 2  b 3

a  b4  a 4  4 a 3 b 6 a 2 b 2  4 ab 3  b 4

The expression of a  b for n = 0, 1, 2, 3 … have the following properties

n

i) There are ‘ n  1 ’ term in the expansion of a b 

n

ii) The exponent of “a” decreases by one from term to term and exponent of ‘b’ increases by
one from term to term.
iii) The sum of exponent in each term is equal to ‘n’
iv) The expansion begin with an and ends with bn
v) When ‘n’ is even the coefficient are about symmetric about the middle term.
vi) When ‘n’ is odd the coefficient are about symmetric about the two middle terms.

Pascal’s Triangle
Consider a  b 

a  b0  1

a  b1  1 1

16
a  b2  1 2 1

a  b3  1 3 3 1

a  b 4  1 4 6 4 1

Observations
i) Each row begins with one and ends with one
ii) Each element in the triangle except one are the sum of the two elements
iii) The coefficient a  bn will appear in (n + 1) first row of the array

In the expansion of a  bn , the coefficient of any term after the first can be generated as follows

Coefficien t of next term 

coefficien t of
the term exponents of a 
Number of the term
Example 1
Consider the expansion of a  b5
Number Coefficient of “a” Exponent Coefficient of the next term
of term of a term
Formula Answer Formula Formula Answer
1 1 1 n=5 1 n 5
n
1
2 n 5 n 1 n(n  1) 10
n
1 1 2
3 n(n  1) 10 n-2 n(n  1)(n  2) 10
n
1 2 1 2  3
4 n(n  1)(n  2) 10 n-3 n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3) 5
1 2 1 2  3
5 n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3) 5 n-4 n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)(n  4) 1
1 2  3 1 2  3  4

Generally a  b
n

n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)....(n  (k  1))

1  2  3.... k

17
Definition
n! (Read n factorial)
n! n(n  1)(n  2)...1

0! 1
n  1 We define n! n(n  1)!

From
n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)....(n  k  1) n  k !

1  2  3....  k n  k !
n(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)....(n  k  1)(n  k )!
=
(1  2  3....  k )(n  k )!
n!
=
k (n  k )!
n!
Binomial term / coefficient is given by
k (n  k )!
The Binomial Theorem
The binomial theorem states that, when ‘n’ is a +ve integer, then

a  bn nC0an nC1an 1bnC2an 2b2  ...nCr an rbr  ... n Cn 1abn 1 nCnbn
Also we write as
n n n  n  n 1
a  b n  a n   a n 1b   a n 2 b 2  ...   a n k b k  ...   ab  b n
1  2 k   n  1
or
n(n  1) a n  2 b 2 n(n  1)(n  2)...(n r  1) a n  r b r
a  b  n
 a  na
n n 1
b  ...   ...  nab n 1  b n
2! r!

Observation from the formula (Binomial Theorem)

i) The coefficient of the rth term is
n 
 
 r 1
ii) The exponent of “ a” in the rth term is n-r+1
iii) The exponent for “b” in the rth term is r-1

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The general term

The general term of a binomial expansion is given by

t r 1  n C r a n  r b r
Where n C r is the coefficient of the(r+1)th term for 𝑟=0,1,…,𝑛

Middle terms
The middle term depends upon the value of n.
a) If n is even: then the total number of terms in the expansion of (a + b)n is n + 1 (odd). Hence,
𝑛 𝑡ℎ
there is only one middle term, i.e., (2 + 1) term is the middle term

b) If n is odd, then the total number of terms in the expansion of (a + b)n is n + 1 (even). So
𝑛+1 𝑡ℎ 𝑛+3 𝑡ℎ
there are two middle terms i.e., ( ) and ( ) are two middle terms.
2 2

Example 1:
Find the Binomial expansion of (2 x  3 y 2 ) 4
Solution
Let a = 2x , b = 3y2
n n n  n  n 1
a  b n  a n   a n 1b   a n 2 b 2  ...   a n k b k  ...   ab  b n
1  2 k   n  1
 4  4  4
   
(2 x  3 y 2 ) 4  (2 x) 4   (2 x) 3 3 y 2   (2 x) 2 3 y 2
2
 
  2 x  3 y 2
3
 (3 y 2 ) 4
1   2 3

Example 2:

Find the fifth term in the expansion of ( x 3  y )13

Solution

Let a = x3 , b = y and n=13

 n  n  r 1 r 1
The nth term expansion of (a+b) n is  a b
 r  1
13  3 1341
=  ( x )  y 4

 5  1

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 13  3 1341
=  ( x )  y4

 5  1

=
13!
4!9!
x
27
y2  y
4

Example 3:
Find the 3rd term in the expansion of (2𝑥 + 3𝑦 2 )4
Solution
Let 𝑎 = 2𝑥, 𝑏 = 3𝑦 2 and 𝑛 = 4, then
Then kth term is given by

t r 1  nCr a n  r b r
Where r+1 =3, r = 2, then
t 21  4C2 (2 x) 4 2 (3 y 2 ) 2

t3  4C2 4 x 2 9 y 4
This can be simplified to:
𝑡3 = 6(4)(9)𝑥 2 𝑦 4 = 216𝑥 2 𝑦 4

Exercise 4
1) Given the expression (2 + 3𝑥)20
i) Write down the 10th term of the expansion

ii) Find the coefficient of the 8th term of the expansion above.

2) Expand (1 − 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 )2 .
9
x2 2
3) Find the 4th term from the end in the expansion of ( − x2 ) .
2

2 12
4) Find the coefficient of x11 in the expansion of (x 3 − ) .
x2

1 2r
5) Find the rth term in the expansion of (x + ) .
x

2 18
6) Determine whether the expansion of (x 2 − ) will contain a term containing x10 ?
x

b 12
7) Find the middle term in the expansion of (2ax − ) .
x2

20
 p x 9
8) Find the middle term in the expansion of( + ) .
x p

9) The coefficient of 2x in the expansion of(1 + 2x)n is 40. Given that n is a positive
integer, find the value of n.

Summary
The applications of basic algebra concepts extend beyond mathematics. They are vital tools in
fields such as science, engineering, finance, computer science, and statistics, where they help solve
practical problems, make predictions, and simplify complex calculations. Moreover, they form the
foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts and techniques. Understanding these
algebraic concepts is essential for building a strong mathematical and analytical skill set that can
be applied in numerous real-world scenarios

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