2.1 Use the Language of Algebra

The topics covered in this section are:

Use variables and algebraic symbols
Identify expressions and equations
Simplify expressions with exponents
Simplify expressions using the order of operations

2.1.1 Use Variables and Algebraic Symbols

Greg and Alex have the same birthday, but they were born in different years. This year Greg is 20 years old and Alex is 23, so Alex is 3 years older than Greg. When Greg was 12, Alex was 15. When Greg is 35, Alex will be 38. No matter what Greg’s age is, Alex’s age will always be 3 years more, right?

In the language of algebra, we say that Greg’s age and Alex’s age are variable and the three is a constant. The ages change, or vary, so age is a variable. The 3 years between them always stays the same, so the age difference is the constant.

In algebra, letters of the alphabet are used to represent variables. Suppose we call Greg’s age $g$ . Then we could use $g+3$ to represent Alex’s age. See the table below.

Greg’s Age	Alex’s Age
12	15
20	23
35	38
$g$	$g+3$

Letters are used to represent variables. Letters often used for variables are $x, y, a, b,$ and $c$ .

VARIABLES AND CONSTANTS

A variable is a letter that represents a number or quantity whose value may change.
A constant is a number whose value always stays the same.

To write algebraically, we need some symbols as well as numbers and variables. There are several types of symbols we will be using. In Whole Numbers, we introduced the symbols for the four basic arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We will summarize them here, along with words we use for the operations and the result.

Operation	Notation	Say:	The result is…
Addition	$a+b$	$a$ plus $b$	the sum of $a$ and $b$
Subtraction	$a-b$	$a$ minus $b$	the difference of $a$ and $b$
Multiplication	$a \cdot b, (a)(b), (a)b, a(b)$	$a$ times $b$	The product of $a$ and $b$
Division	$a \div b$ , $a/b$ , $\frac{a}{b}$ , b)a	$a$ divided by $b$	The quotient of $a$ and $b$

In algebra, the cross symbol, $\times$ , is not used to show multiplication because that symbol may cause confusion. Does $3xy$ mean(three times $y$ ) or $3 \cdot x \cdot y$ (three times $x$ times $y$ )? To make it clear, use $\cdot$ or parentheses for multiplication.

We perform these operations on two numbers. When translating from symbolic form to words, or from words to symbolic form, pay attention to the words of or and to help you find the numbers.

The sum of 5 and 3 means add 5 plus 3, which we write as $5+3$ .
The difference of 9 and 2 means subtract 9 minus 2, which we write as $9-2$ .
The product of 4 and 8 means multiply 4 times 8, which we can write as $4 \cdot 8$ .
The quotient of 20 and 55 means divide 20 by 5, which we can write as $20 \div 5$ .

Example 1

Translate from algebra to words:

$12+14$
$(30)(5)$
$64 \div 8$
$x-y$

Solution

When two quantities have the same value, we say they are equal and connect them with an equal sign.

Equality Symbol

$a = b$ is read $a$ is equal to $b$

The symbol $=$ is called the equal sign.

An inequality is used in algebra to compare two quantities that may have different values. The number line can help you understand inequalities. Remember that on the number line the numbers get larger as they go from left to right. So if we know that $b$ is greater than $a$ , it means that $b$ is to the right of $a$ on the number line. We use the symbols “ $<$ ” and “ $>$ ” for inequalities.

Inequality

$a < b$ is read $a$ is less than $b$

$a$ is to the left of $b$ on the number line.

The figure shows a horizontal number line that begins with the letter a on the left then the letter b to its right.

$a > b$ is read [latex]a[/latex] is greater than [latex]b[/latex]

$a$ is to the right of [latex]b[/latex] on the number line

The figure shows a horizontal number line that begins with the letter b on the left then the letter a to its right.

The expressions $a < b$ and $a > b$ can be read from left-to-right or right-to-left, though in English we usually read from left-to-right. In general

$a < b$ is equivalent to $b > a$ . For example, $7 < 11$ is equivalent to $11 > 7$ .

$a > b$ is equivalent to $b < a$ . For example, $17 > 14$ is equivalent to $4 < 17$ .

When we write an inequality symbol with a line number it, such as $a \leq b$ , it means $a < b$ or $a = b$ . We read this $a$ is less than or equal to $b$ . Also, if we put a slash through an equal sign, $\neq$ , it means not equal.

We summarize the symbols of equality and inequality in the table below.

Algebraic Notation	Say
$a = b$	$a$ is equal to $b$
$a \neq b$	$a$ is not equal to $b$
$a < b$	$a$ is less than $b$
$a > b$	$a$ is greater than $b$
$a \leq b$	$a$ is less than or equal to $b$
$a \geq b$	$a$ is greater than or equal to $b$

Symbols $<$ and $>$

The symbols $<$ and $>$ each have a smaller side and a larger side.

smaller side $<$ larger side
larger side $>$ smaller side

The smaller side of the symbol faces the smaller number and the larger faces the larger number.

Example 2

Translate from algebra to words:

$20 \leq 35$
$11 \neq 15 - 3$
$9 > 10 \div 2$
$x + 2 < 10$

Solution

Example 3

The information in the figure below compares the fuel economy in miles-per-gallon (mpg) of several cars. Write the appropriate symbol, $=, <, or >$ in each expression to compare the fuel economy of the cars.

This table has two rows and six columns. The first column is a header column and it labels each row The first row is labeled “Car” and the second “Fuel economy (mpg)”. To the right of the ‘Car’ row are the labels: “Prius”, “Mini Cooper”, “Toyota Corolla”, “Versa”, “Honda Fit”. Each of these columns contains an image of the labeled car model. To the right of the “Fuel economy (mpg)” row are the algebraic equations: the letter p, the equals symbol, the number forty-eight; the letter m, the equals symbol, the number twenty-seven; the letter c, the equals symbol, the number twenty-eight; the letter v, the equals symbol, the number twenty-six; and the letter f, the equals symbol, the number twenty-seven. — (credit: modification of work by Bernard Goldbach, Wikimedia Commons)

MPG of Prius_____ MPG of Mini Cooper
MPG of Versa_____ MPG of Fit
MPG of Mini Cooper_____ MPG of Fit
MPG of Corolla_____ MPG of Versa
MPG of Corolla_____ MPG of Prius

Solution

Grouping symbols in algebra are much like the commas, colons, and other punctuation marks in written language. They indicate which expressions are to be kept together and separate from other expressions. The table below lists three of the most commonly used grouping symbols in algebra.

Common Grouping Symbols

Here are some examples of expressions that include grouping symbols. We will simplify expressions like these later in this section.

$8(14-8)$
$21-3[2+4(9-8)]$
$24\div {13-2[1(6-5)+4]}$

2.1.2 Identify Expressions and Equations

What is the difference in English between a phrase and a sentence? A phrase expresses a single thought that is incomplete by itself, but a sentence makes a complete statement. “Running very fast” is a phrase, but “The football player was running very fast” is a sentence. A sentence has a subject and a verb.

In algebra, we have expressions and equations. An expression is like a phrase. Here are some examples of expressions and how they relate to word phrases:

Expression	Words	Phrase
$3+5$	3 plus 5	the sum of three and five
$n-1$	$n$ minus one	the difference of $n$ and one
$6 \cdot 7$	6 times 7	the product of six and seven
$\frac{x}{y}$	$x$ divided by $y$	the quotient of $x$ and $y$

Notice that the phrases do not form a complete sentence because the phrase does not have a verb. An equation is two expressions linked with an equal sign. When you read the words the symbols represent in an equation, you have a complete sentence in English. The equal sign gives the verb. Here are some examples of equations:

Equation	Sentence
$3+5=8$	The sum of three and five is equal to eight.
$n-1=14$	$n$ minus one equals fourteen.
$6 \cdot 7 = 42$	The product of six and seven is equal to forty-two.
$x=53$	$x$ is equal to fifty-three.
$y+9=2y-3$	$y$ plus nine is equal to two $y$ minus three.

Expressions and Equations

An expression is a number, a variable, or a combination of numbers and variables and operation symbols.
An equation is made up of two expressions connected by an equal sign.

Example 4

Determine if each is an expression or an equation:

$16-6=10$
$4 \cdot 2 + 1$
$x \div 25$
$y + 8 = 40$

Solution

5.1.3 Simplify Expressions with Exponents

To simplify a numerical expression means to do all the math possible. For example, to simplify $4 \cdot 2 + 1$ we’d first multiply $4 \cdot 2$ to get 8 and then add the 1 to ge 9. A good habit to develop is to work down the page, writing each step of the process below the previous step. The example just described would look like this:

$4 \cdot 2 + 1$

$8 + 1$

$9$

Supposed we have the expression $2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2$ . We could write this more compactly using exponential notation. Exponential notation is used in algebra to represent a quantity multiplied by itself several times. We write $2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2$ as $2^{3}$ and $2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2$ as $2^{9}$ . In expressions such as $2^{3}$ , the 2 is called the base and the 3 is called the exponent. The exponent tells us how many factors of the base we have to multiply.

The image shows the number two with the number three, in superscript, to the right of the two. The number two is labeled as “base” and the number three is labeled as “exponent”.

means multiply three factors of 2

We say $2^{3}$ is in exponential notation and $2 \cdot 2 \cdot 2$ is in expanded notation.

EXPONENTIAL NOTATION

For any expression $a^{n}$ , $a$ is a factor multiplied by it self $n$ times if $n$ is a positive integer.

$a^{n}$ means multiply $n$ factors of $a$

At the top of the image is the letter a with the letter n, in superscript, to the right of the a. The letter a is labeled as “base” and the letter n is labeled as “exponent”. Below this is the letter a with the letter n, in superscript, to the right of the a set equal to n factors of a.

The expression $a^{n}$ is read as $a$ to the $n^{th}$ power.

For powers of $n=2$ and $n=3$ , we have special names.

$a^{2}$ is read as “ $a$ squared”

$a^{3}$ is read as “ $a$ cubed”

The table below lists some example of expressions written in exponential notation.

Exponential Notation	In Words
$7^{2}$	7 to the second power, or 7 squared
$5^{3}$	5 to the third power, or 5 cubed
$9^{4}$	9 to the fourth power
$12^{5}$	12 to the fifth power

Example 5

Write each expression in exponential form:

$16 \cdot 16 \cdot 16 \cdot 16 \cdot 16 \cdot 16 \cdot 16$
$9 \cdot 9 \cdot 9 \cdot 9 \cdot 9$
$x \cdot x \cdot x \cdot x$
$a \cdot a \cdot a \cdot a \cdot a \cdot a \cdot a \cdot a$

Solution

Example 6

Write each expression in expanded form:

$8^{6}$
$x^{5}$

Solution

The base is 8 and the exponent is 6, so $8^{6}$ means $8 \cdot 8 \cdot 8 \cdot 8 \cdot 8 \cdot 8$
The base is $x$ and the exponent is 5, so $x^{5}$ means $x \cdot x \cdot x \cdot x \cdot x$

To simplify an exponential expression without using a calculator, we write it in expanded form and then multiply the factors.

Example 7

Simplify: $3^{4}$ .

Solution

2.1.4 Simplify Expressions Using the Order of Operations

We’ve introduced most of the symbols and notation used in algebra, but now we need to clarify the order of operations. Otherwise, expressions may have different meanings, and they may result in different values.

For example, consider the expression:

$4+3 \cdot 7$

Some students say is simplifies to 49.

Some students say is simplifies to 25.

Imagine the confusion that could result if every problem had several different correct answers. The same expression should give the same result. So mathematicians established some guidelines called the order of operations, which outlines the order in which parts of an expression must be simplified.

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

When simplifying mathematical expressions perform the operations in the following order:

Parentheses and other Grouping Symbols
- Simplify all expressions inside the parentheses or other grouping symbols, working on the innermost parentheses first.
Exponents
- Simplify all expressions with exponents.
Multiplication and Division
- Perform all multiplication and division in order from left to right. These operations have equal priority.
Addition and Subtraction
- Perform all addition and subtraction in order from left to right. These operations have equal priority.

Students often ask, “How will I remember the order?” Here is a way to help you remember: Take the first letter of each key word and substitute the silly phrase. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

Please	Parentheses
Excuse	Exponents
My Dear	Multiplication and Division
Aunt Sally	Addition and Subtraction

It’s good that ‘My Dear’ goes together, as this reminds us that multiplication and division have equal priority. We do not always do multiplication before division or always do division before multiplication. We do them in order from left to right.

Similarly, ‘Aunt Sally’ goes together and so reminds us that addition and subtraction also have equal priority and we do them in order from left to right.

Example 8

Simplify the expressions

$4+3 \cdot 7$
$(4+3) \cdot 7$

Solution

Example 9

Simplify the expressions

$18 \div 9 \cdot 2$
$18 \cdot 9 \div 2$

Solution

Example 10

Simplify: $18 \div 6 + 4(5-2)$ .

Solution

When there are multiple grouping symbols, we simplify the innermost parentheses first and work outward.

Example 11

Simplify: $5+2^{3}+3[6-3(4-2)]$ .

Solution

Example 12

Simplify: $2^{3}+3^{4} \div 3-5^{2}$ .

Solution

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Marecek, L., Anthony-Smith, M., & Mathis, A. H. (2020). Use the Language of Algebra. In Prealgebra 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/prealgebra-2e/pages/2-1-use-the-language-of-algebra. License: CC BY 4.0. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/prealgebra-2e/pages/1-introduction

1.	MPG of Prius____MPG of Mini Cooper
Find the values in the chart.	48____27
Compare.	$48>27$
	MPG of Prius $>$ MPG of Mini Cooper
2.	MPG of Versa____MPG of Fit
Find the values in the chart.	26____27
Compare.	$26<27$
	MPG of Versa $<$ MPG of Fit
3.	MPG of Mini Cooper____MPG of Fit
Find the values in the chart.	27____27
Compare.	$27=27$
	MPG of Mini Cooper $=$ MPG of FIt
4.	MPG of Corolla____MPG of Versa
Find the values in the chart.	28____26
Compare.	$28>26$
	MPG of Corolla $>$ MPG of Versa
5.	MPG of Corolla____MPG of Prius
Find the values in the chart.	28____48
Compare.	$28<48$
	MPG of Corolla $<$ MPG of Prius

parentheses	$( )$
brackets	$[ ]$
braces	$\left \{ \right \}$

1. $16+6=10$	This is an equation—two expressions are connected with an equal sign.
2. $4 \cdot 2 + 1$	This is an expression—no equal sign.
3. $x \div 25$	This is an expression—no equal sign.
4. $y + 8 = 40$	This is an equation—two expressions are connected with an equal sign.

1. The base 16 is a factor 7 times.	$16^{7}$
2. The base 9 is a factor 5 times.	$9^{5}$
3. The base $x$ is a factor 4 times.	$x^{4}$
4. The base $a$ is a factor 8 times.	$a^{8}$

	$3^{4}$
Expand the expression.	$3 \cdot 3 \cdot 3 \cdot 3$
Multiply left to right.	$9 \cdot 3 \cdot 3$
	$27 \cdot 3$
Multiply.	$81$

	$4+3 \cdot 7$
Since $4+3$ gives $7$ .	$7 \cdot 7$
And $7 \cdot 7$ is $49$ .	$49$

	$4+3 \cdot 7$
Since $3 \cdot 7$ is $21$ .	$4+21$
And $21 + 4$ makes $25$ .	$25$

1.	$4+3 \cdot 7$
Are there any parentheses? No.
Are there any exponents? No.
Is there any multiplication or division? Yes.
Multiply first.	$4+3 \cdot 7$
Add.	$4+21$
	$25$
2.	$(4+3) \cdot 7$
Are there any parentheses? Yes.	$(4+3) \cdot 7$
Simplify inside the parentheses.	$(7)7$
Are there any exponents? No.
Is there any multiplication or division? Yes.
Multiply.	$49$

	$18 \div 6 + 4(5-2)$
Parentheses? Yes, subtract first.	$18 \div 6 + 4(3)$
Exponents? No.
Multiplication or division? Yes.
Divide first because we multiply and divide left to right.	$3 + 4(3)$
Any other multiplication or division? Yes.
Multiply.	$3 + 12$
Any other multiplication or division? No.
Any addition or subtraction? Yes.	$15$

2.1 Use the Language of Algebra

2.1.1 Use Variables and Algebraic Symbols

VARIABLES AND CONSTANTS

Example 1

Equality Symbol

Inequality

Symbols and

Example 2

Example 3

2.1.2 Identify Expressions and Equations

Expressions and Equations

Example 4

5.1.3 Simplify Expressions with Exponents

EXPONENTIAL NOTATION

Example 5

Example 6

Example 7

2.1.4 Simplify Expressions Using the Order of Operations

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

Example 8

Example 9

Example 10

Example 11

Example 12

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Symbols $<$ and $>$