D771 Quantitative Literacy ALL ABOUT OA (new update exam review fall 2026-2027) Western Governors University
Quantitative Literacy An equation is a math statement where each side of the equal sign = evaluate to the same value (the word "equation" comes from making "equal"). Each side of an equation is an expression: Numbers and possibly operators like +, -, ×, or /, like 2 + 3, or like 5, that evaluate to a value. To evaluate an expression means to determine the expression's value, as in 2 + 3 evaluates to the value 5. Commonly, a real-life problem can be written as an equation, with an "unknown" value that should be determined. Ex: If a sandwich costs $8 and a drink costs $3, how much is a meal? In other words, 8 + 3 = ?. Often, the unknown value is not alone on a side, but rather in the middle of an expression. Ex: If a sandwich costs $8 and the meal's bill was $11, how much was the drink? The equation is 8 + ? = 11. A person can "guess" values for the unknown until the sides are equal. 8 + 1 would be 9, too low. 8 + 2 would be 10, too low. 8 + 3 is 11, so the drink cost 3 dollars. A more methodical approach is to apply the same operation to both sides of an equation, which maintains the equality, and can be done to make the unknown value alone on one side, thus "solving" for that unknown value. Example: Some problems have an unknown value alone on one side. If a sandwich is $8 and a drink is $3, what is the meal's cost? 8 + 3 = ? A person simply evaluates the other side to determine the unknown value: 8 + 3 is 11. So the unknown value is 11. And indeed, 8 + 3 = 11. But sometimes the unknown value is inside an expression. Mia is asked how much a drink costs. She remembers her meal was $11 and her sandwich was