Pre-Algebra is a common name for a course

Course (education)

The very broad dictionary meaning of the word course is the act or action of moving in a path from point to point . There are multiple meanings for this word, some of which include: general line of orientation, a mode of action, part of a meal, a mode of action, and many more. This article focuses...

 in middle school mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, it is generally taught between the fifth and eighth grades, although it may be necessary to take this course as early as sixth grade in order to advance to Calculus BC by twelfth grade. The objective of Pre-Algebra is to prepare the student for the study of algebra

Algebra

Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...

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Pre-Algebra includes several broad subjects:

• Review of natural number
  Natural number
  In mathematics, the natural numbers are the ordinary whole numbers used for counting and ordering . These purposes are related to the linguistic notions of cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively...
  
   arithmetic
• New types of numbers such as integer
  Integer
  The integers are formed by the natural numbers together with the negatives of the non-zero natural numbers .They are known as Positive and Negative Integers respectively...
  
  s, fractions
  Fraction (mathematics)
  A fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, we specify how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, five-eighths and three-quarters.A common or "vulgar" fraction, such as 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, etc., consists...
  
  , decimal
  Decimal
  The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
  
  s and negative numbers
• Factorization
  Integer factorization
  In number theory, integer factorization or prime factorization is the decomposition of a composite number into smaller non-trivial divisors, which when multiplied together equal the original integer....
  
   of natural number
  Natural number
  In mathematics, the natural numbers are the ordinary whole numbers used for counting and ordering . These purposes are related to the linguistic notions of cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively...
  
  s
• Properties of operations (associativity
  Associativity
  In mathematics, associativity is a property of some binary operations. It means that, within an expression containing two or more occurrences in a row of the same associative operator, the order in which the operations are performed does not matter as long as the sequence of the operands is not...
  
  , distributivity
  Distributivity
  In mathematics, and in particular in abstract algebra, distributivity is a property of binary operations that generalizes the distributive law from elementary algebra.For example:...
  
   and so on)
• Simple (integer) roots and powers
• Rules of evaluation of expressions, such as operator precedence and use of parentheses
• Basics of equations, including rules for invariant manipulation of equations
• Variables
  Variable (mathematics)
  In mathematics, a variable is a value that may change within the scope of a given problem or set of operations. In contrast, a constant is a value that remains unchanged, though often unknown or undetermined. The concepts of constants and variables are fundamental to many areas of mathematics and...
  
   and exponentiation
  Exponentiation
  Exponentiation is a mathematical operation, written as an, involving two numbers, the base a and the exponent n...
  
  

Pre-algebra often includes some basic subjects from geometry

Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

, mostly the kinds that further understanding of algebra and show how it is used, such as area

Area

Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

, volume

Volume

Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....

, and perimeter

Perimeter

A perimeter is a path that surrounds an area. The word comes from the Greek peri and meter . The term may be used either for the path or its length - it can be thought of as the length of the outline of a shape. The perimeter of a circular area is called circumference.- Practical uses :Calculating...

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External links

• Pre-Algebra online study guides, examples, practice problems, and teacher resources