Math Help??

In math terms, what do the letters:





N


A


B


C Stand for..... PLEASE HELP ME, I DONT KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN!!!

Math Help??
Those numbers are called variables and they stand for an unknown number...usually the one you are trying to solve for. For example the equation x+4 can also be written n+4 or a+4...the need for different letters is because sometimes you may have more than one unknown variable in an expression and you can't use the same letter twice. Only x's can be added to x's and n's added to n's because they are like numbers (x+n=x+n...but 1x+2x=3x), but you can multiply the two x(n)=xn and so on. Hope that is what you are looking for;)
Reply:Obviously, you are pre-algebra, so I'll try to explain without using a lot of it.





In higher mathematics, such as Algebra and Calculus, letters represent unknown quantities, or variables. For instance, if a widget costs $1.00, how much do 5 widgets cost? Here, you have two known quantities and one unknown. To solve the problem, you need to express it in mathematical terms:





Unit Cost, here we can arbitrarily say, is C (or any other letter or symbol. You could even use $. It doesn't matter).


No. of Units, we can say, is U.


Find Total Cost, T:





C = $1.00


U = 5 Widgets





The formula is:


T = C times U, or


T = C x U, or


T = CU


Now substitute the known values:


T = $1.00 x 5


T = $5.00





Therefore, the cost of 5 widgets is $5.00.





Hope this helps. Good luck and remember these 3 things about school: stay, study, succeed.