THE 'FATHER OF ALGEBRA'
Al-Khwarizmi lived in Baghdad, 780 to 850 AD. He was one of the first to write about algebra (using words, not letters).
Around 825 he wrote Al-jabr w’al muq abala, from which we get the word algebra (meaning 'restoration of broken parts'). This book included many word problems, especially to do with inheritance.
He was also influential in the establishment of Hindu-Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, ...) which replaced Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV,...). The Hindu-Arabic system was much easier to use when performing mathematical operations, since it is a base-10 system. Ever tried to multiply using Roman numerals...?
From Al-Khwarizmi's name came the word "algorithm".
Around 825 he wrote Al-jabr w’al muq abala, from which we get the word algebra (meaning 'restoration of broken parts'). This book included many word problems, especially to do with inheritance.
He was also influential in the establishment of Hindu-Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, ...) which replaced Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV,...). The Hindu-Arabic system was much easier to use when performing mathematical operations, since it is a base-10 system. Ever tried to multiply using Roman numerals...?
From Al-Khwarizmi's name came the word "algorithm".
What is Algebra?
Algebra is the branch of mathematics that uses letters in place of some unknown numbers.
You've been using algebra since your early schooling, when you learned formulas like the area of a rectangle, with width w, height h:
You've been using algebra since your early schooling, when you learned formulas like the area of a rectangle, with width w, height h:
A = w × h
We used letters to stand for numbers. Once we knew the width and height, we could substitute them into the formula and find our area.
Another one you may have seen is the area of a square, with sides s:
A = s2
As soon as we know the length of the sides, we can find the area.
Literal numbers (the letters used in algebra) can either stand for variables (the value of the letter can change, like in the examples of the area of a rectangle and the area of a square) or constants (where the value does not change), for example e (which has a constant value of 2.781828...).
Algebra is a powerful tool for problem solving in science, engineering, economics, finance, architecture, ship-building and many other day-to-day tasks.
If we didn't use letters in place of numbers (and used words instead), we would be writing many pages for each problem and it would be much more confusing.
If we didn't use letters in place of numbers (and used words instead), we would be writing many pages for each problem and it would be much more confusing.
