Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v4 - JHS 1

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Define what a repeated factor is.
• Illustrate the concept with examples.
• Perform multiplication using repeated factors.
• Identify repeated factors in multiplication problems.

Lesson summary

This lesson introduces the concept of repeated factors, a fundamental idea in mathematics that simplifies how we write and work with repeated multiplication. We will learn that multiplying a number by itself several times can be expressed in a short, powerful way. This concept is the building block for understanding powers, indices, area, volume, and even how things like populations or money can grow very quickly. For example, understanding repeated factors helps us calculate the area of a square farm plot (length x length) or the volume of a cubic water tank (length x length x length).

Lesson notes

What is a Factor?

In multiplication, the numbers that are being multiplied together are called factors. In the expression `3 x 5 = 15`, the numbers 3 and 5 are the factors. What are Repeated Factors?

Repeated factors occur when we multiply the same number by itself more than once. The word "repeat" means to do something again. Example 1: In the expression `2 x 2 x 2`, the number 2 is the factor that is being repeated. Example 2: In the expression `7 x 7 x 7 x 7`, the number 7 is the repeated factor. Introducing Index Form (Powers)

Instead of writing long strings of repeated factors, mathematicians have a shorter way to write it. This is called index form or exponential form.