Originally Posted By: paul
Quote:
Good. Do you think that if you change the variable


were not using a variable.



We WERE using a variable. That's what the n was.

I wrote n*n = n^2 and you agreed with it, perhaps not understanding what I was getting at.

That's one point of algebra - using symbols to express general relationships.

Every time you've written equations previously, whether p=mv or whatever, you have used variables. And the point of this is that if mathematics is to be consistent you have to apply the same rules regardless of whether you are manipulating numbers or variables or functions.