More Algebra

Now I am studying Polynomials.

Here is an example:

6x² - 7x + 1

Here is another example:

10x⁵ + 4x⁴ - 13x³ + .5² - 102

Each part of a Polynomial is called a Monomial. My dad calls them "terms".

The number in front of each term is called a coefficient.

The little numbers above the x's are called exponents.

When x-terms have the same exponent they can be easily combined by adding their coefficients.

For example:

3x⁴ - 17x⁴ = -14x⁴

(-1/3)x⁵ + (1/2)x⁵ = (1/6)x⁵

Two terms or two monomials, make a "binomial". (Bi - means two).

You can also multiply, divide, and factor Polynomials

Car Racing

Last week was my first Pinewood derby.

The Pinewood derby is where you make a wooden car then race it on a ramp.

I won 1st place in my den but I won 3rd against all the Tiger Scouts.

This is my video of my first Pinewood derby ↑.

Linear Equations

In algebra now I'm solving some equations with 2 variables.

For example:

x + y = 10

Here are some of the solutions to this equation:

(1,9)
(-3,13)
(9,1)
(1.5,8.5)
(13,-3)
(1000,-990)
(0,10)
(-33.2,43.2)
.
.
.

As you can see there are infinite solutions (x,y) to this equation. In fact, there are infinite solutions to any equation with an x and y.

The best way to describe these solutions is with a graph.

This graph is always a straight line that extends in both directions to infinity.

The easiest way to draw these lines is by computing the x and y intercepts.

All you have to do is set x equal to 0 and solve for y. Then set y equal to 0 and solve for x.

Then you have two points that you can connect to draw the infinite line!

For example, the intercepts of x + y = 10 are (0,10) and (10,0).

The other common way to graph a line is with slope-intercept form: y = mx + b where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept.

Universal Theme Park

I went to Universal Studios 2 weeks ago in Orlando with my Dad and my sister.

There are 2 parks - Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.

I was there for 8 hours!

I had a lot fun.

These were my favorite rides:

• E.T. ride

• Woody Woodpecker ride

• The Simpsons ride

• Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast

• Flight of the Hippogriff

• Pteranodon Flyers

This picture was taken in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I went to Mini Golf last week in Flordia.

I went with my dad, my sister, my grandpa, and my dad's godfather.

Watch the video above and see me get a hole in one after my sister got one.

It was fun.

At the end we fed the Alligators. But they didn't eat.

My Boat Ride

Yesterday I went on a boat ride.

It was 90 minutes long.

The boat ride was in Naples FL.

The weather was windy.

I saw big mansions.

We had lunch on it.

My Dad and my sister saw Dolphins but I missed them.

The boat was 2 years old and cost $4,000,000.

Yesterday I went to the Miami Seaquarium with Dad and my sister.

It is in Florida on Key Biscayne.

I saw 4 shows : the top deck Dolphin show, the Flipper show, the Sea Lion show, the Killer Whale show.

I liked the the Sea Lion show the best because it was very funny.

They even had Crocodiles that slept with their mouths open!

They had a little playground.

There were also sharks and stingrays.

My Dad and my sister fed the stingrays with shrimp out of their hands.

My Future

My future is:

• I'm going to search for buried treasure and gold.

• I'm going to be an archaeologist.

• I'm going to be a science teacher.

• I'm going to be a scientist.

• I'm going to be a builder.

• I'm going to have kids.

By the way, that picture 3.5 years old.

My Snow Fortress

New York has 2 feet of snow.

I built a fort out of snow at my house.

The fort was was really hard!!

First we made the wall.

Then we made the snowballs.

Then our fort was done!!

We stood behind the fort for protection and threw the snowballs from there.

It's going to last until it melts.

Christmas

My Christmas was good!! I was the first one to get up. Santa Claus left lots of gifts. I went to my Nana's house. I saw my cousins.
This is what I got for Christmas:

• Snap Circuit Rover

• LEGO Von Nebula

• LEGO Meltdown

• LEGO Typhoon Turbo Sub

• Nerf Gun

Legos

I made these two ships. The one here - LEGO Space Police Undercover Cruiser - I made from a box. The one below I made on my own and I used different kinds of Legos.

The one below I worked very hard on. It is fragile!!

This is not the final version.

The final version had much more features!!!

I just finished the second Charlie Bone book - Charlie Bone an the Time Twister.

This book is about time traveling, started by a marble in a game.

Somebody named Henry came from 1916 to Charlie's time.

This is now the biggest book I ever read - 402 pages. It is one more page than the first one.

The time twister is a marble filled with colors and is big and shiny.

My Biggest Book Ever!

This is the longest book I ever read - Midnight for Charlie Bone.

It has 401 pages. I read it in two and a half days.

It was about a 10 year-old boy named Charlie Bone who went to Bloor's Academy for gifted children.

His special power was that he could hear things from people in photographs.

Bloor's Academy is like Hogwarts from Harry Potter!

Thanks!

I want to thank everybody who has been ordering through the Amazon ads on my site and my Dad's site.

So far my commission for this month is already around $50.

Since I earn 6% of all orders, that means $50 is 6% of the total.

X = total

.06 · X = 50

Divide both sides by .06

X = 50 / (.06)

X = 833.33

So the total spent through my ads this month is about $833.

Thanks so much!

Pencil Ed

Me and my Dad are working on a story.

It is called Pencil Ed.

It is a probably going to be a graphic novel.

We thought about the Birth of Pencil Ed and a few other episodes.

There are other characters too:

Pencil Ed

Eraser Burt

Eraser Bette

Permanent Mark

Scissor Sisters

Crayon Man

Paint Boy

Lou Glue

Hope Soap

I don't want to tell you anymore because it might ruin the story.

Two American Biographies

I just read these books:

Daniel Boone lived from 1734-1820.

He was an American Pioneer who was most famous for exploring Kentucky.

He was also a soldier, politician, surveyor, and a merchant.

Benjamin Franklin was a paper printer.

He discovered electricity.

He played music.

He helped write the U.S. Constitution.

Finished Another Book!

I just finished this book - Singapore Math 6B.

It covered:

Rate

Circle

Pie Charts

Area and Perimeter

Volume

Challenging Word Problems

Rate = Distance / Time

Circumference = Π * Diameter

Area of a Circle = Π * Radius²

Area of a Semi-Circle = .5 * Π * Radius²

Area of a Quadrant(of a Circle) = .25 * Π * Radius²

Volume of a Box = Width * Length * Height

Volume of a Cube = Side³

Thanksgiving 2010

Yesterday was Thanksgiving.

I went to my cousins' house in New Jersey for Thanksgiving.

I had a great Thanksgiving dinner: bread, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and turkey with gravy.

And I slept in my cousin Colin's room.

My Birthday Presents

I turned 6 last week. And here are the presents I received:

Invisible Ink Pen

Razor Scooter

LEGO World Racers

Battleship

Thames & Kosmos Physics - Simple Machines

Tiger Slippers

Prague Castle

Toy Story Puzzle

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7

Magic Show

One Friday I went to a magic show.

It was fun. I found out some of the magic tricks.

I was one of the volunteers. And I have magic powers.

 I made my own magic tricks!

My Job

I have a job.

I get the mail for Grandma and sort it almost every day. Grandma gets a lot of mail!!!

I get 25 cents each time.

My money is hard to steal. It's in a cash register.

I'm doing a great job!!!

This Week's Books

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.

Geronimo was an Indian warrior.

The Into Volcano one was about two boys who explore a volcano.

The Pet one was about a cat and a dog and a turtle.

The Benny and Penny one was about two little mice.

Andrew Jackson

Today I just read a short biography about Andrew Jackson.

He was born in 1767 in the Waxhaw region - which is near where I was born, Charlotte, NC.

Andrew joined the army during the Revolutionary War when he was only 13.

His Dad died before he was born, and the rest of his family died during the War.

Even though he was an orphan he went on to do many great things.

And he became the 7th President of the United States.

He's my father's favorite President!

Central Park Zoo

Yesterday I went to the Central Park Zoo.

It was fun.

There was a Snow Leopard, it was hard to see.

There was a Snow Monkey.

There were sea lions.

There was a polar bear.

There were penguins, lots of them!

I saw bats.

Tecumseh

I just read a short biography about Tecumseh.

He was an American Indian.

He was born in 1768. He lived in Ohio.

He was in a lot of wars against America.

His tribe was Shawnee, he was the leader.

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