Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic
structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization
of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic operations other than the standard arithmetic
operations, such as addition and multiplication.
Elementary algebra is the main form of algebra taught in schools. It examines mathematical
statements using variables for unspecified values and seeks to determine for which values the
statements are true. To do so, it uses different methods of transforming equations to isolate
variables. Linear algebra is a closely related field that investigates linear equations and
combinations of them called systems of linear equations. It provides methods to find the values
that solve all equations in the system at the same time, and to study the set of these solutions.
Abstract algebra studies algebraic structures, which consist of a set of mathematical
objects together with one or several operations defined on that set. It is a generalization of
elementary and linear algebra since it allows mathematical objects other than numbers and non-
arithmetic operations. It distinguishes between different types of algebraic structures, such
as groups, rings, and fields, based on the number of operations they use and the laws they follow,
called axioms. Universal algebra and category theory provide general frameworks to investigate
abstract patterns that characterize different classes of algebraic structures.
Algebraic methods were first studied in the ancient period to solve specific problems in fields
like geometry. Subsequent mathematicians examined general techniques to solve equations
independent of their specific applications. They described equations and their solutions using
words and abbreviations until the 16th and 17th centuries when a rigorous symbolic formalism
was developed. In the mid-19th century, the scope of algebra broadened beyond a theory of
equations to cover diverse types of algebraic operations and structures. Algebra is relevant to
many branches of mathematics, such as geometry, topology, number theory, and calculus, and
other fields of inquiry, like logic and the empirical sciences.
Definition and etymology
Algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies algebraic structures and the operations they
use.[1] An algebraic structure is a non-empty set of mathematical objects, such as the integers,
together with algebraic operations defined on that set, like addition and multiplication.[2]
[a]
Algebra explores the laws, general characteristics, and types of algebraic structures. Within
certain algebraic structures, it examines the use of variables in equations and how to manipulate
these equations.[4][b]
Algebra is often understood as a generalization of arithmetic.[8] Arithmetic studies operations like
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, in a particular domain of numbers, such as the
real numbers.[9] Elementary algebra constitutes the first level of abstraction. Like arithmetic, it
restricts itself to specific types of numbers and operations. It generalizes these operations by
allowing indefinite quantities in the form of variables in addition to numbers. [10] A higher level of
abstraction is found in abstract algebra, which is not limited to a particular domain and examines
algebraic structures such as groups and rings. It extends beyond typical arithmetic operations by
also covering other types of operations.[11] Universal algebra is still more abstract in that it is not
interested in specific algebraic structures but investigates the characteristics of algebraic
structures in general.[12]
The word algebra comes from the title of al-Khwarizmi's book Al-Jabr.[13]
The term algebra is sometimes used in a more narrow sense to refer only to elementary algebra
or only to abstract algebra.[14] When used as a countable noun, an algebra is a specific type of
algebraic structure that involves a vector space equipped with a certain type of binary operation,
a bilinear map.[15] Depending on the context, "algebra" can also refer to other algebraic
structures, like a Lie algebra or an associative algebra.[16]
The word algebra comes from the Arabic term ( الجبرal-jabr), which originally referred to the
surgical treatment of bonesetting. In the 9th century, the term received a mathematical meaning
when Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi employed it to name a method
for transforming equations and used it in the title of his treatise al-Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī Ḥisāb
al-Jabr wal-Muqābalah [The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing]
which was translated into Latin as Liber Algebrae et Almucabola.[c] The word entered the
English language in the 16th century from Italian, Spanish, and medieval Latin.[18] Initially, its
meaning was restricted to the theory of equations, that is, to the art of manipulating polynomial
equations in view of solving them. This changed in the 19th century [d] when the scope of algebra
broadened to cover the study of diverse types of algebraic operations and structures together with
their underlying axioms, the laws they follow.[21]