Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
An algebraic equation is an equation involving polynomials, for which algebraic expressions may be solutions. If you restrict your set of constants to be numbers, any algebraic expression can be called an arithmetic expression. However, algebraic expressions can be used on more abstract objects such as in Abstract algebra.
The plus–minus sign, ±, is used as a shorthand notation for two expressions written as one, representing one expression with a plus sign, the other with a minus sign. For example, y = x ± 1 represents the two equations y = x + 1 and y = x − 1. Sometimes, it is used for denoting a positive-or-negative term such as ±x.
An algebraic expression is an expression built up from algebraic constants, variables, and the algebraic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and exponentiation by a rational number). [41] For example, 3x 2 − 2xy + c is an algebraic expression.
Some algebraic expressions take the form of statements that relate two expressions to one another. An equation is a statement formed by comparing two expressions, saying that they are equal. This can be expressed using the equals sign ( = {\displaystyle =} ), as in 5 x 2 + 6 x = 3 y + 4 {\displaystyle 5x^{2}+6x=3y+4} .
A binomial is a polynomial which is the sum of two monomials. A binomial in a single indeterminate (also known as a univariate binomial) can be written in the form , where a and b are numbers, and m and n are distinct non-negative integers and x is a symbol which is called an indeterminate or, for historical reasons, a variable.
Algebraic operations work in the same way as arithmetic operations, [12] such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and exponentiation, [13] and are applied to algebraic variables and terms. Multiplication symbols are usually omitted, and implied when there is no space between two variables or terms, or when a coefficient is used.
The FOIL method is a special case of a more general method for multiplying algebraic expressions using the distributive law. The word FOIL was originally intended solely as a mnemonic for high-school students learning algebra. The term appears in William Betz's 1929 text Algebra for Today, where he states: [2]
As this example shows, when like terms exist in an expression, they may be combined by adding or subtracting (whatever the expression indicates) the coefficients, and maintaining the common factor of both terms. Such combination is called combining like terms or collecting like terms, and it is an important tool used for solving equations.