What is Algebra for and how is it applied in the real world?
Algebra was for lack of a better word invented by the mathematician philosopher Rene Descartes in the 17th Century. A brilliant mathematician, he came up with the coordinate axes, the x,y,z plane as it is known which allowed every point to have a unique coordinate. Before this innovation all mathematics was done geometrically, that is to say, there were no algebric equations as we know them, they did most of it in their heads and we take it for granted. By defining each point as a unique coordinate and each segment as having a distinct equation, by drawing 3d shapes into the coordinate axes, Descartes was able to combine letters with shapes and so was able to come up with algebric equations to represent them. For example, draw a rectangle on grid paper. With one side x, and one side 5, the total perimeter or rather the equation for its perimeter is (x+5). Since its invention, it has become so versatile that mathematicians have been able to dabble in mathematics so abstract that they do
Related Questions
- A rectangular garden 10 m by 16 m is to be surrounded by a concrete walk of uniform width. Given that the area of the walk is 120 meters, assuming the width to be x, form an equation in x and solve it to find the value of x.
- What is Applied Mathematics and Computational Science?
- What is the square root of 3?
