Abstract
The significance of the statement 2 + 2 = 4 lies in the recognition that it is true whether the objects under discussion are apples, ants, cradles, or cars. Further, the statement 5 + 3 = 3 + 5 indicates that the order of addition is immaterial and that this principle is true for any pair of integers. These examples illustrate the fundamental task of algebra: to abstract those properties that apply to a number system. The properties depend on the type of numbers that are chosen to deal with. This chapter discusses the real number system and its properties. It presents a correspondence between the real numbers and the points on a real number line and also presents a graphical presentation of this correspondence. It discusses some fundamentals of algebra: the meaning and use of variables, algebraic expressions and polynomial forms, factoring, and operations with rational expressions or algebraic fractions.
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