Chapter 9 - XYZ Custom Plus

RESEARCH PROJECT
Algebraic Symbolism
Algebra made a beginning as early as 1850 b.c.
in Egypt. However, the symbols we use in algebra
today took some time to develop. For example,
the algebraic use of letters for numbers
began much later with Diophantus, a mathematician
famous for studying Diophantine equations.
In the early centuries, the full words plus,
minus, multiplied by, divided by, and equals were
written out. Imagine how much more difficult
your homework would be if you had to write
out all these words instead of using symbols.
Algebraists began to come up with a system of
symbols to make writing algebra easier. At first,
not everyone agreed on the symbols to be used.
For example, the present division sign 4 was
often used for subtraction. People in different
countries used different symbols: the Italians
preferred to use p and m for plus and minus,
while the less traditional Germans were starting
to use 1 and 2.
Research the history of algebraic symbolism.
Find out when the algebraic symbols we use today
(such as letters to represent variables, 1, 2,
a
4, ?, a/b and } }) came into common use. Summarize
your results in an
b
essay.
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Chapter 9 Solving Equations and Inequalities