Algebraic Expression

A fundamental characteristic of algebra is the use of symbols, other than numerals, to represent numbers. The symbols used most often are letters. You can make a few algebraic symbols take the place of many words by combining symbols, or symbols and numbers. This is very helpful when you use mathematics to solve "real-world" problems.

For instance, if you want to represent the total cost of an unknown number of suits that cost $200 each, you may use some letter, say x, to represent the number of suits purchased. The total cost of the suits (in dollars) would be given by the expression 200x. Thus, if x = 3, the total cost is 200(3) = $600, and if x = 10, the total cost is 200(10) = $2,000

Please e-mail your comments or suggestions to Heide Mansouri at heide.mansouri@ttu.edu