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Algebra was practiced and diffused orally by practitioners, with Diophantus picking up techniques to solve problems in arithmetic. [37] In modern algebra a polynomial is a linear combination of variable x that is built of exponentiation, scalar multiplication, addition, and subtraction.
The origin of a Cartesian coordinate system. In mathematics, the origin of a Euclidean space is a special point, usually denoted by the letter O, used as a fixed point of reference for the geometry of the surrounding space. In physical problems, the choice of origin is often arbitrary, meaning any choice of origin will ultimately give the same ...
Algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies certain 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.
The term algebra is derived from the Arabic word al-jabr meaning 'the reunion of broken parts' that he used for naming one of these methods in the title of his main treatise. [31] [32] Algebra became an area in its own right only with François Viète (1540–1603), who introduced the use of variables for representing unknown or unspecified ...
But the definition was soon extended to functions of several variables and to functions of a complex variable. In the second half of the 19th century, the mathematically rigorous definition of a function was introduced, and functions with arbitrary domains and codomains were defined. Functions are now used throughout all areas of mathematics.
A composition algebra (,,) consists of an algebra over a field, an involution, and a quadratic form = called the "norm". The characteristic feature of composition algebras is the homomorphism property of N {\displaystyle N} : for the product w z {\displaystyle wz} of two elements w {\displaystyle w} and z {\displaystyle z} of the composition ...
A complex number can be visually represented as a pair of numbers (a, b) forming a vector on a diagram called an Argand diagram, representing the complex plane. Re is the real axis, Im is the imaginary axis, and i is the "imaginary unit", that satisfies i 2 = −1.
The polar form encodes a non-zero complex number z by its absolute value, that is, the (positive, real) distance r to the origin, and an angle between the real (x) axis Re and the line passing through both the origin and z. This angle is called the argument of z. The absolute value r of z is given by