Algebra

Study of operations and structures — from solving equations to groups, rings and fields — where symbols stand for numbers and their relationships.

Core Principles & Analysis

• The word comes from al-jabr in al-Khwarizmi's 9th-century treatise on solving equations.
• Abstract algebra recast arithmetic itself: groups, rings and fields define structures by their rules, not their contents.
• Galois theory connects equation-solving to group symmetry, explaining why the quintic has no radical formula.