Читать книгу Algebra I All-in-One For Dummies - Mary Jane Sterling, Mary Sterling Jane - Страница 11

IN THIS CHAPTER

Identifying the different types of numbers

Placing numbers on a number line

Becoming familiar with the vocabulary

Recognizing the operations of algebra

You’ve undoubtedly heard the word algebra on many occasions, and you know that it has something to do with mathematics. Perhaps you remember that algebra has enough stuff in it to require taking two separate high school algebra classes — Algebra I and Algebra II. But what exactly is algebra? What is it really used for?

This book answers these questions and more, providing the straight scoop on some of the contributions to algebra’s development, what it’s good for, how algebra is used, and what tools you need to make it happen. In this chapter, you find some of the basics necessary to make it easier to find your way through the different topics in this book.

In a nutshell, algebra is a way of generalizing arithmetic. Through the use of variables (letters representing numbers) and formulas or equations involving those variables, you solve problems. The problems may be in terms of practical applications, or they may be puzzles for the pure pleasure of the solving. Algebra uses positive and negative numbers, integers, fractions, operations, and symbols to analyze the relationships between values. It’s a systematic study of numbers and their relationships, and it uses specific rules.