Gas Laws

In the science office we were talking about the student's inability to work simple math problems. In my class we are discussing the gas laws and how the variables relate. The students were having a hard time with the math of these laws. One student even mentioned that they were working with these types of expressions in math. Some other students could not see the math relationships in the chemistry. I am wondering how one group of students can be asked to reach their own understanding of chemistry if they do not understand the math principles in class. How do we "adjust" the background information to make sure that they actually have it?