| |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Algebra |
Algebra is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation and quantity. The name is derived from the treatise written by the Persian[1] mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer, Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi titled (in Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala (meaning "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing"), which provided symbolic operations for the systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations.
Together with geometry, analysis, combinatorics, and number theory, algebra is one of the main branches of mathematics. Elementary algebra provides an introduction to the basic ideas of algebra, including effects of adding and multiplying numbers, the concept of variables, definition of polynomials, along with factorization and determining their roots. |
| |
History |
| The origins of algebra can be traced to the ancient Babylonians,[2] who developed an advanced arithmetical system with which they were able to do calculations in an algebraic fashion. With the use of this system, they were able to apply formulae and calculate solutions for unknown values for a class of problems typically solved today by using linear equations, quadratic equations, and indeterminate linear equations. By contrast, most Egyptians of this era, and most Indian, Greek and Chinese mathematicians in the first millennium BC, usually solved such equations by geometric methods, such as those described in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, Sulba Sutras, Euclid's Elements, and The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. The geometric work of the Greeks, typified in the Elements, provided the framework for generalizing formulae beyond the solution of particular problems into more general systems of stating and solving equations. |
|
| Copyright © 2006 VIENOVA Technology. All Rights Reserved |
|
 |
|
|
