The Origin
The origin of the word “algebra” is derived from the Arabic word الجبر al-jabr which comes from the title of a manuscript written by the mathematician Al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century. The root word means restoration or completion. The book title is “ الكتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر والمقابلة ” translated to “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”. Algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols. One of the definitions of algebra is “the part of mathematics in which letters and other general symbols are used to represent numbers and quantities in formulae and equations”. It is a good foundation before moving on to more complex part of mathematics. For decades, it has been used for many fields such as engineering, business, architecture, mathematics, science and more.
The Importance
Algebra is one of the keys to understanding other advancements. In other subjects such as chemistry, physics, science, engineering, medicine, and economics depend on algebra. It teaches as beyond basic and is also the preparation before calculus and statistics. Learning algebra helps to develop our critical thinking skills as we’re trying to find the unknown answer to complete the problem. Furthermore, algebra can play roles in our every day including business, finance management, technology, cooking, sports, time management, etc.
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