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Mathematics LibreTexts

1: Algebra Essentials

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In this chapter, we will review sets of numbers and properties of operations used to manipulate numbers and variables. This understanding will serve as prerequisite knowledge throughout our study of algebra. 

  • 1.1: Real Numbers
    It is often said that mathematics is the language of science. If this is true, then the language of mathematics is numbers. The earliest use of numbers occurred 100 centuries ago in the Middle East to count, or enumerate items. Because of the evolution of number systems, we can now perform complex calculations using these and other categories of real numbers. In this section, we will explore sets of numbers, calculations with different kinds of numbers, and the use of numbers in expressions.
  • 1.2: Exponents
    An exponent, also called a "power" is an integer, written as a superscript, in which the base is multiplied by itself that particular number of times. When the exponent is negative, it represents the reciprocal of the base raised to the whole number power. When the exponent is zero, the value is equal to 1. Non-integer exponents are not covered in this section.
  • 1.3: Polynomials
    A polynomial is the sum of two or more "terms". A monomial is a single term. Terms are made up of a coefficient, a variable (or variables) , and and exponent (or exponents). In this section we discuss 3 of the basic operations with polynomials: Addition, Subtraction and Multiplication.
  • 1.4: Factoring
    The greatest common factor, or GCF, can be factored out of a polynomial. Checking for a GCF should be the first step in any factoring problem. Trinomials with leading coefficient 1 can be factored by finding numbers that have a product of the third term and a sum of the second term. Trinomials can be factored using a process called factoring by grouping. Perfect square trinomials and the difference of squares are special products and can be factored using equations.
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Thumbnail: A shortcut called FOIL is sometimes used to find the product of two binomials. It is called FOIL because we multiply the first terms, the outer terms, the inner terms, and then the last terms of each binomial.

Contributors

  • Lynn Marecek (Santa Ana College) and MaryAnne Anthony-Smith (formerly of Santa Ana College). This content produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license.

This page titled 1: Algebra Essentials is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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