Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with the laws involved in manipulating and computing mathematical expressions that contain unknown values represented by symbols. These symbols are usually letters of the alphabet. It can also be defined simply as mathematical processes by which unknown values are manipulated and computed. THE LANGUAGE OF ALGEBRA Example "Suppose this year Greg is 20 years old and Alex is 23. You know that Alex is 3 years older than Greg. When Greg was 12, Alex was 15. When Greg is 35, Alex will be 38. No matter what Greg's age is, Alex's age will always be 3 years more, right? In the language of Algebra, we say that Greg's age and Alex's age are VARIABLES and the 3 is a CONSTANT." ( Marecek, Anthony-Smith Mathis, 2020, pg. 1-2) Variables vary/change. This means that the values of Greg's age and Alex's age vary/change with respect to their age difference which is a constant. Constant meaning to remain the same. The age difference will always stay the same, therefore making it a constant. In the language of Algebra, we use Symbols (mainly letters of the alphabet) to represent variables. If we assign a letter g to Greg's age, then we can use g + 3 to represent Alex's age ( Marecek, Anthony-Smith, Mathis, 2020). x, y, a, b and c are the letters commonly used to represent variables. ( Marecek, Anthony-Smith, Mathis, 2020) Summary Whenever you see an Algebraic expression, just remember that the plain numbers are always the constants, whilst the letters are the Variables. The variables change with respect to the constants. Rules 1. The number in front of the letter is called a coefficient. 2. The letters are called variables. 3. Plain numbers are called constants Example; 1. x + 5 x = Variable, 5 = Constant 2. 3x + 5 3 = Coefficient, X = Variable, 5 = Constant Reference Marecek, L., Anthony-Smith, M., Mathis, A.H. (2020) Elementary Algebra 2e Houston, Texas: OpenStax URL:https://openstax.org/elementary-algebra-2e/pages/1-introduction. http://openstax.org/elementary-algebra-2e/pages/1-introduction. Help support this work to ensure the continued growth of this platform. Any amount will be greatly appreciated. You can also donate school material.
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