Algebra 1

Section 2.1

Variables and Algebraic Expressions

Variables

Continuing our discussion on the type of numbers we will deal with in algebra, it is impor-
tant to realize that a number will not always be known and fixed. If the value of a quantity changes
over time it is not static. Such a number that is either unknown, not static, or both is called a variable.

Variables are important in algebra because we can use them in expressions to represent a quantity
that we may not know or that may change. In such expressions, a variable is represented by a symbol,
rather than a number. For example, letters are commonly used to represent variables. You may have
seen expressions where you are asked to "solve for x". In this context, x is an unknown quantity and
thus a variable. When picking a symbol to represent a specific variable, it is important to choose one
that makes sense. For example, if we look at how price changes with time, we may use p to represent
price and t to represent time. If a variable does not represent any physical or real-life quantity, we
may use x, y, or z as a variable. In contrast, a fixed, known value is called a constant. 3, -6, 25 , and
are all examples of constants.

Algebraic Expressions

Now it is important to understand how variables are used with other operations and numbers.
The first way that variables can be used is in an algebraic expression. Here, there is no equality
relating two quantities. Rather, there is a single series of symbols expressing some overall value. For
example, 5x + 3 is an algebraic expression because there is no equality between two values. In this
algebraic expression, x is a variable. Note that one cannot evaluate this algebraic expression with-
out first knowing the value of x. An algebraic expression can also involve multiple variables, such as
5y 3x + 7. In this expression, both x and y are variables.

While we study algebraic expressions, we must become familiar with the vocabulary surrounding
them. A term of an algebraic expression is a group of numbers and variables that are being multiplied
or divided by each other, but no addition or subtraction is included. For example, in the expression
5y 3x + 7, the first term is 5y, the second term is 3x, and the final term is 7.

The degree of an algebraic expression is the highest number of variables that are multiplied
in a single term. For example, in the expression 5x2 + 3xy 2 + 6y, the power is 3. The first term
has 2 variables multiplied: x x = x2 , the second term has 3 variables multiplied by each other:
x y y = xy 2 , and the final term has a single variable being multiplied by a constant. Out of 2, 3,
and 1, the largest is 3. Thus, the expressions power is three. If a term has no variables, its degree is 0.

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 Any constant that is multiplied by a set of variables is called a coefficient. For example, in the
expression 5x2 + 3xy 2 + 6y, the coefficient of the first term is 5, the second terms coefficient is 3, and
the final term of the expression has the coefficient 6. If there is no constant in front of a term, the
coefficient is one. x2 , for example, has a coefficient of 1. This is because 1 x2 = x2 .

Although we will study many kinds of algebraic expressions, the ones this section focuses on are
linear algebraic expressions. This means that the highest power of the expression is 1. 5x + 2y is
a linear algebraic expression but 2x2 is not.

When using algebraic expressions, it is useful to have them in their simplest form. This requires
that all like terms are combined. Like terms have the same sequence of variables and differ only
by their coefficient. 5xy, 3xy, and 2xy are like terms, so 5xy + 3xy 2xy + 4x can be simplified to
6xy + 4x, since 5 + 3 2 = 6 and 4x is not a like term with 5xy.

One can evaluate an algebraic expression if one has a value for all the variables that appear in
the expression. For example, to evaluate the expression 5x + 4y when x = 5 and y = 2, one plugs in
the values for x and y into the expression. 5 5 + 4 2 = 25 + 8 = 33, so the expression evaluated at
the specified values is 33.

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Examples

Here are a few examples to test the concepts provided in this section. Answers can be found on
the following pages.

1. How many terms does the algebraic expression 9x2 y + 4xy 2 3xy + x 7 have?

2. Simplify the algebraic expression 5xy 4x + 2xy 3y + 4x by combining like terms.

3. What is the coefficient of the third term of the algebraic expression 4x 2 + y.

4. What is the degree of the algebraic expression 7y 4 3x2 y 3 + 5xy 2

5. Evaluate the expression 4x 3y + 5z 1 when x = 3, y = 5, and z = 1.

6. Which of the following algebraic expressions is linear?

A. 3xy 4x
B. x2 3y
C. 3x 2y + 4z
D. x2 y 2

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Solutions

These are the solutions to the questions on the previous page

1. The expression has 5 terms: 9x2 y, 4xy 2 , 3xy, x, and 7.

2. 5xy and 2xy are like terms, so they can be combined. 4x and 4x are like terms so they can be
combined. 3y has no like terms. 5xy + 2xy = 7xy, and 4x + 4x = 0. Thus, the simplified
expression is 7xy 3y. Note the terms with only x disappear, because the terms coefficients
added to zero. When this happens, we say the terms cancel.

3. The last term, y, is being multiplied by only 1, so its coefficient is 1.

4. The first term yields: y 4 = y y y y. The second term yields: x2 y 3 = x x y y y. The

third term yields: xy 2 = x y y. We find that the second term has the most variables being
multiplied: 5. Thus, the degree of the expression is 5.

5. We will simply plug the values into the expression. 4 3 3 5 + 5 1 1 = 12 15 + 5 1 = 1.

So the answer is 1.

6. The answer is C. All expressions other than the third option have degree 2, and an expression
must have degree 1 to be linear. Indeed the third option, C, has degree 1.