Are pronumerals and variables the same?

Answer 1

A pronumeral is a letter that can be used to replace a number (numeral).

Depending on the context it can be

a) a variable whose value is unknown but may change or depend on something else e.g y=2x + 3 (where x and y are variables and pronumerals)

b) a constant but unknown value e.g 2a=6 where a is having a fixed value, 3

c) a coefficient when one pronumeral multiplies another e.g ax where a is a pronumeral that is an unknown constant and multiplies another pronumeral (or a variable) x . Here 'a' is also termed as coefficient

thus a pronumeral can be

a) variable b) constant and c) coefficient

Answer 2

A pronumeral stands in place of a number and sometimes this will be a variable, but very often not.

eg: in 2a = 6, 'a' is used in place of the number 3. But, in this case, 'a' can only equal 3. It's value does not VARY, it is not flexible. I find it interesting that so many people would describe this equation as 'Algebra' when they would describe, "What does 6 divided by 2 equal?" as a simple maths question.

A 'variable' is as its name describes, variable. It's value will change (or vary) depending on the circumstances.

eg: y = 2x + 4. The value of 'y' depends entirely on the value of 'x'. There are not fixed answers, only a fixed relationship between these two variables. THIS is Algebra.