ABSTRACT
We can think about algebra as the study of rules. There is an algebra of addition, an algebra of multiplication, an algebra of co-ordinate geometry, and so on. We can look at 5 6 arithmetically and recall the answer as 30. However, once we begin to look at the calculation in more general terms as the product of an even and an odd number, we are beginning to think algebraically. All of a sudden the rules of multiplication in different situations become important. We can ask whether an odd number times an even number always results in an even number product. To answer this we need to know the rules of the situation.
