Put every value in brackets before you work it out, and the minus signs stay put.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
Algebra questions are solved on paper, one line at a time: substitute in brackets, expand fully, then check the answer. Children in Year 7 now sit the exam in Year 8 , expected in June 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts
Independent. Not affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education or ACER.
An algebra question asks your child to put numbers into letters, solve an equation, or find a hidden rule in a story. It sits in the Mathematics part, which shares a 60-minute sitting with Quantitative Reasoning.
ACER says the Maths part tests year-level maths knowledge and reasoning, and using maths in real-world contexts, and the knowledge needed is no more than the Year 8 curriculum. So the letters and brackets are school algebra; the challenge is keeping every sign right by hand.
These three are our own, from easier to harder: a substitution, an equation with a bracket, and a poster order with a set-up fee. Each one shows the answer and every line of working. Read them with your child.
Talk through why the right option is right. Then ask which wrong option looked tempting, and find the line of working that leads to it.
If a = 3 and b = −2, what is the value of 2a² − 3b?
Answer: C
Answer: C
Square first, then multiply: 2a² means 2 × 3², which is 2 × 9 = 18. Then −3b is −3 × (−2) = +6, so the total is 24. 12 comes from treating −3b as −6, and 42 comes from squaring 2a (6² = 36) instead of squaring only a.
Solve the equation 5(x − 2) = 3x + 8.
Answer: D
Answer: D
Expand the bracket first: 5(x − 2) = 5x − 10. Then 5x − 10 = 3x + 8 gives 2x = 18, so x = 9. Check: 5 × 7 = 35 and 27 + 8 = 35. x = 5 comes from multiplying only the x by 5 and leaving the 2 alone.
A print shop charges a fixed set-up fee for each order, plus the same price for every poster. An order of 40 posters costs $86 and an order of 100 posters costs $170. Kalinda has $250 to spend on a single order. What is the greatest number of posters she can order?
Answer: B
Answer: B
The extra 60 posters cost $170 − $86 = $84, so each poster costs $1.40, and the set-up fee is $86 − 40 × $1.40 = $30. That leaves Kalinda $220 for posters, and 220 ÷ 1.4 = 157.1…, so 157 posters. 147 comes from using $1.70 a poster (170 ÷ 100), which wrongly charges the set-up fee again on every poster.
Slow down at the first line, because that's where signs and brackets go missing. These steps are ours, not ACER's, taken from the working in the questions above.
When substituting, write 2 × (3)² − 3 × (−2). Brackets keep the minus signs where they belong.
Square first, then multiply. In 2a², only the a is squared.
Multiply everything inside the bracket. Then move the letter terms to one side and the numbers to the other.
When two orders share the same fixed fee, the gap between their totals is the price of the extra items alone.
Put the answer back into the original question. If both sides match, it is right.
The last step is the one to keep even under time pressure: it takes seconds and catches a wrong solution before it costs a mark.
Each wrong option comes from one slip in the working, so the fix is to find which line it happened on. These are the four slips to check for.
Treat algebra as a way of talking about rules, and play with rules at home.
The worked questions show the steps; a full sitting shows whether the signs hold up against the clock. Practice test 1 in our selective entry practice tests is free, with results by skill afterwards.
For more worked questions, see maths sample questions; for the whole part, VIC selective entry mathematics.
Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.
Practise for the real test
Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.