Why Do Children Find

Algebra Difficult?
by G. N. Thwaites, Oakham School

Many people would argue that algebra means algebraic manipulation and that all that is required is for children to learn to

apply the correct rules. I hope to show that this is an oversimplified viewpoint for both mathematical and psychological
reasons.

There is sometimes, too, a feeling of puzzlement in the teacher

a clash between that idea and the logical, reasonable, perceptive

part of the person.
A problem with regarding algebra as a game of rules is that
there are many such rules and they often seem arbitrary and

meaningless. This makes them hard to remember accurately

and, in a way, encourages a pupil to invent his own, unaccept-

when a pupil is unable to perform an operation which the

able "rules". This leads to puzzlement and a sense insecurity

teacher regards as obvious. I hope to show, also, that algebra is

rarely obvious.

within the subject.

As an illustration of this, I remember when I was at school

missing the lesson in which it was explained why "minus x

1. The Non-Visual Nature of Algebra

A great deal of the mathematics which is done in schools,
especially up to 'O' level, is visual in the sense that the ideas
are very closely related to pictorial models of situations. For
example, trigonometry refers to triangles and there is a close
correspondence (perhaps even a scale correspondence) between
the triangle of the problem and the diagram drawn on paper.
This situation applies to many topics, e.g. geometry, vectors,
graphical work. Even in a topic such as probability the ideas
can be represented efficiently on paper, e.g. for throwing a die

we can write "{ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)" and there is a close corre-

spondence between the symbols used and the actual situation.

Again, many problems in arithmetic can be thought of in

pictorial terms. Thus, for example, "find 25 per cent of 6 m"
can be visualised in terms of chopping a tape of length 6 m in
to four equal parts.
This visual approach can be extremely useful in the solution

of a problem, because imagined or actual operations on the

model can correspond closely to operations within the original

situation.

Algebra seems to be different from the situations considered

above in that the paper representation, with its various equali-

ties and the ubiquitous "x", does not relate visually to the
concepts involved. For example, why does (x -y)2=x2- 2xy
+y2? Why should the - 2xy appear? It is surely much more
reasonable from a visual point of view that (x -y)2=x2-y2.
x+l
Again, once the idea of cancellation is accepted, in x+2' why
should the x on top not cancel with the x below to give I (or
2)? These rules look as though they should work, but they are
in fact two of the visual traps with which algebra abounds.

2. The Apparently Arbitrary Nature of

Algebra

Children can be surprisingly logical, reasonable and perceptive

with the information they possess (it should be remembered
that, of the many adults who pride themselves on being logical,

minus = plus" (see Arcavi and Bruckheimer' for a full discussion

of this problem). This puzzled me for the next 17 years. Not
even defining numbers axiomatically helped: why should those
particular axioms be chosen? Then the solution hit me: if you
start with the natural numbers, define zero and the negative
numbers, and also expect the distributive law to work for the
extended system, then "minus x minus= plus" is a logical consequence. So the rule is not arbitrary, but the reasons for it
contain elements of choice, convenience, consistency and logic.

3. The Relationship Between

Symbolism, System and Question
Another difficulty with regarding algebra as a game of rules, is
that the rules of algebraic manipulation and operation cannot
in fact be properly formulated or understood without reference
to the system under consideration and to the type of question

being asked. To illustrate this let us return to the standard

howler (x- y)2=x2-y2.
Now, this is always true ify= 0. If it is regarded as an equation
in x then it has a solution x =y. If x and y belong to a field of
characteristic 2 then it is always true.

Furthermore, the "correct" expression (x-y)2 =x2-2xy+y2

is not generally valid in a non-commutative ring, such as the

set of 2 x 2 matrices.

Clearly, the validity or otherwise of the expression (x-y)2=

2
x -y2 depends upon the context in which it is placed.

4. The Complex Nature of Algebra

My final point is that algebra is a very complex subject, even
at levels which are, on the face of it, quite elementary. Let me
illustrate this by considering some of the difficulties attached
to the ideas of polynomials and rational functions.
The idea of polynomials in fact embraces three quite separate
notions. These are polynomial equations, polynomial functions
and polynomials.

In a polynomial equation, e.g. x2- 3x+2=0, we are really

looking at txElR: x2-3x+2=0), so that the x stands for a

reasonable and perceptive, many were once children!). It is

member of a fixed (possibly empty) set.

In the polynomial function x-*x2- 3x +2 we are really considering the subset of IRx IR, t (x, y): x.EIR, y=x2- 3x + 2) .

perhaps an error invariably to suppose that lack of understanding

of an idea represents lack of ability. It could possibly represent

The r6le of the x is rather curious. It and its powers label the

16

In the polynomial x2- 3x +2 the x is an "indeterminate".

Mathematics in School, September 1982

coefficients 1, -3 and 2, and aid us when we combine polynomials together under addition and multiplication. Strictly
we ought to define a polynomial to be a vector having a countably infinite number of components, all but a finite number of
which are zero (see Adamson'1). Addition is defined componentwise and multiplication by the rule

(0,...,0, 1, 0,... XO,..., 0, 1, 0,...)=(O,..., 0, 1,

nth place mth place (n +m - 1)th place

justify not putting x= -4 on the grounds that "we don't allow

division by zero". But suppose I set x= 0? The left-hand side

(LHS) is then 0 which is "indeterminate" but the right-hand
side is (. What is more, if I multiply the top and bottom on
the LHS by (x - a), then the LHS is indeterminate for any
value of a, too, although the rational functions are still supposedly equal.

5. Some Conclusions

extended by linearity. This clumsy expression is then represented much more easily if we let x stand for (0, 1, 0, . . .
The three notions are very different. Of course, the first two
are related in a fairly obvious way, but the relationship between
the second and the third is actually very complex. The similarity

The teaching of algebra is difficult and always will be. Persistence is essential, together with a realisation that pupils' difficulties may well be reasonable ones.
Frequent examples in the appropriate contexts will help to

of notation invites us to suppose that the function f:x-+ao+

alx + - - - +ax" is essentially the same as the polynomial
ao+ax + - - - ax". Certainly the polynomial defines a function

as the complete expression becomes familiar.

Constant reminders to look at the question being asked relative

and, if the ai belong to an infinite field then the function defines

a polynomial.
the a; belong
a finite
Fk are
of k
elements
then If,
thehowever,
latter statement
is not to
true:
thus xfield
and xk
different polynomials but the functions f:x-+x and g:x-+xk are
identical.

Again, consider the case of rational functions. The way I

justify to my classes cancellation of the type

x2+3xx(x+3)_x+3

x2+4x x(x+4) x+4

is that it has to work for all values of x. This then enables me

to justify the incorrectness of, say

make visual sense of expressions such as (x -y) = x- 2xy +y',

to the algebraic manipulation involved will hopefully help

pupils to think about what the symbols represent.

The apparently arbitrary nature of algebraic rules can be

reduced by discussing how the rules arise, when they are manmade, when absolute and when simply conventions.
One topic which can help algebraic awareness is that of structure and binary operations. Thus the different rules in different
systems can be contrasted. Also, expressions such as 1 + 1+1=0
(for arithmetic modulo 3) point out to the pupil that great care
is needed in accepting symbols on paper on face value.

Finally, perhaps, we should be prepared to admit to our

pupils that the subject is at times difficult. This can reduce
the pupil's sense of inadequacy when faced with an apparently
intractable problem and also serve to remind us that algebra is
not always obvious - even to ourselves.

x2+3x 3
x2+4x 4

by setting x = 1 and showing that the two sides are then

numerically different. This is reasonably convincing, but any
pupil who thinks about it carefully can shoot me down: I can

References

1. Adamson, I. T. (1964) Introduction to Field Theory, Oliver and Boyd.

2. Arcavi, A. and Bruckheimer, M. (1981) "How shall we teach the multiplication of negative numbers?", Mathematics in School, 10, 5.

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Mathematics

in

School,

September

1982

17