Algebra

What is Algebra?

System of arithmetic applying to any set of non numerical symbols (usually letters), and the axioms and rules by which they are combined or operated upon; sometimes known as generalized arithmetic.

The basics of algebra were familiar in Babylon 2000 BC, and were practiced by the Arabs in the Middle Ages. In the 9th century, the Arab mathematician Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi first used the words hisäb al-jabr (“calculus of reduction”) as part of the title of a treatise. Algebra is used in many branches of mathematics, for example, matrix algebra and Boolean algebra (the latter method was first devised in the 19th century by the British mathematician George Boole and used in working out the logic for computers).

Example: x can represent any value. For example, 5.