The difference between pre-algebra and elementary algebra?

journalboy: What is the difference between prealgebra and elementary algebra?
Im studying on my own and I am trying to figure out which book to study next. Would it be elementary algebra, intermediate, algebra 1, or college algebra.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Phil
Elementary algebra is going to teach you the very basic and super easy concepts of algebra.

Example: 5 + ______ = 13

Pre-algebra will take you above and beyond a basic introduction and get you familiar with solving for variables and doing other a little bit hard problems.

I’m not sure where you started but if you have already learned elementary algebra then you should go to pre algebra followed by intermediate algebra followed by algebra 1.

College algebra is for college students.

Blessings

Answer by A H
Algebra has two VASTLY different meanings in mathematics.

In junior high/high school, algebra is basically the study of variables and functions.
In “college algebra”, it can involve the study of generic operations, fields, groups, and their properties.

To make it even more confusing, I’m sure there are some “college algebra” textbooks out there that are really high school algebra texts designed to help freshmen who maybe stopped their math education at Algebra II. That would basically bridge them from high school math to college calculus.

Personally for me, my curriculum went:
Pre-Algebra
Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Pre-Calculus / “Trigonometry” (some basic trig covered in geometry, but not in-depth)
Calculus of one variable
Calculus of multiple variables

Honestly, the titles of the books don’t tell me much…especially if they’re all in the same series. It’s possible that any or all of them may be appropriate for you. My advice would be to read the introduction to the text and see if they say what material is assumed. Generally by the time you get to Algebra 1, you should be fairly proficient and able to do all four operations (+, -, x, /) with all types of numbers: integers, negatives, fractions, and decimals. Most algebra books might spend a chapter or two reviewing this.