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Sometimes multiplication and division are given equal precedence, or sometimes multiplication is given higher precedence than division; see § Mixed division and multiplication below. If each subtraction is replaced with addition of the opposite (additive inverse), then the associative and commutative laws of addition allow terms to be added in ...
In mathematics, an algebraic expression is an expression built up from constants (usually, algebraic numbers) variables, and the basic algebraic operations: addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (×), division (÷), whole number powers, and roots (fractional powers).
Rather than using the ambiguous division sign (÷), [a] division is usually represented with a vinculum, a horizontal line, as in 3 / x + 1 . In plain text and programming languages, a slash (also called a solidus) is used, e.g. 3 / (x + 1). Exponents are usually formatted using superscripts, as in x 2.
For example, a fraction is put in lowest terms by cancelling out the common factors of the numerator and the denominator. [2] As another example, if a × b = a × c , then the multiplicative term a can be canceled out if a ≠0, resulting in the equivalent expression b = c ; this is equivalent to dividing through by a .
Division can be calculated with an abacus. [14] Logarithm tables can be used to divide two numbers, by subtracting the two numbers' logarithms, then looking up the antilogarithm of the result. Division can be calculated with a slide rule by aligning the divisor on the C scale with the dividend on the D scale. The quotient can be found on the D ...
For associative algebras, the definition can be simplified as follows: a non-zero associative algebra over a field is a division algebra if and only if it has a multiplicative identity element 1 and every non-zero element a has a multiplicative inverse (i.e. an element x with ax = xa = 1).
Terms are within the same expression and are combined by either addition or subtraction. For example, take the expression: + There are two terms in this expression. Notice that the two terms have a common factor, that is, both terms have an . This means that the common factor variable can be factored out, resulting in
In algebra, polynomial long division is an algorithm for dividing a polynomial by another polynomial of the same or lower degree, a generalized version of the familiar arithmetic technique called long division. It can be done easily by hand, because it separates an otherwise complex division problem into smaller ones.