Algebra is defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
as a generalization of arithmetic in which letters
representing numbers are combined according to the rules of
arithmetic. This is not a good definition of algebra. It
would take a thick book to really explain it. In fact, to
this day it is still being added to. There are always new
things to be discovered about it. It has been added to by
many different people over the centuries. Algebra has a
long interesting history.
The first work describing algebra was called
Arithmetica, a treatise by Diophantus of Alexandria. It
was a collect…
