Elementary algebra is a fundamental and relatively basic form of algebra taught to students who are presumed to have little or no formal knowledge of mathematics beyond arithmetic. While in arithmetic only numbers and their arithmetical operations (such as +, −, ×, ÷) occur, in algebra one also uses symbols (such as x and y, or a and b) to denote numbers. These are called variables. This is useful because:
These three are the main strands of elem...
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Elementary algebra is a fundamental and relatively basic form of algebra taught to students who are presumed to have little or no formal knowledge of mathematics beyond arithmetic. While in arithmetic only numbers and their arithmetical operations (such as +, −, ×, ÷) occur, in algebra one also uses symbols (such as x and y, or a and b) to denote numbers. These are called variables. This is useful because:
These three are the main strands of elementary algebra, which should be distinguished from abstract algebra, a more advanced area of study.
In elementary algebra, an "expression" may contain numbers, variables and arithmetical operations. These are usually written (by convention) with 'higher-power' terms on the left (see polynomial); a few examples are:
In more advanced algebra, an expression may also include elementary functions.
An "equation" is the claim that two expressions are equal. Some equations are true for all values of the involved variables (such as a + b = b + a); such...
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