algebra

Algebra uses objects that aren’t numbers instead of unknown values to make numerical calculations.

We can use x + 3 = 7 as an example. The value of x is unknown and is sometimes called a variable.

We discover the value of x by subtracting 3 from both sides like this:

Here are examples of objects that appear in algebra:

• terms
• letters
• symbols
• variables
• functions
• equations
• formulae
• identities.