In Technology in Mathematics Teaching: a Bridge between Teaching and Learning, L. Burton and B. Jaworsky (eds.), Lund: Chartwell-Bratt, pp. 261-274. ISBN 91 44 60711 3 An analysis of the relationship between spreadsheet and algebra G.Dettori, R.Garuti, E.Lemut, L.Netchitailova In recent times, the spreadsheet has been suggested as a tool to teach algebra in intermediate high school. Our a-priori analysis of the relationship between spreadsheet and algebra shows the inadequacy of this tool to express the fundamental characteristics of algebra, that is, the manipulation of algebraic variables and relations, which make algebra suitable as a formalism for describing models. However, with the attentive guidance of a teacher, the spreadsheet can become a useful tool for motivating the introduction of some concepts of algebra and for reflecting on different resolution models. Introduction In the last years, several studies pointed out both potentialities and problems related to using a spreadsheet to teach some typical topics of mathematical curricula in intermediate/high school, such as algebra, approximate calculus, statistics (see Malara et al. (1992) for a review). The decision to use the spreadsheet to teach a discipline (like, for instance, algebra) sometimes seems implicitly determined by the assumption that an item of software can be successfully used to teach/learn any topic which is involved in the use of that software. We consider this point of view arguable, for two reasons; first, this position does not specify how deep it is necessary to know that topic to start using the software; second, it does not distinguish between "learning something about" and "learning the most important aspects of" a topic. Moreover, as concerns algebra in particular, some researches (Capponi et al. 1989, Capponi 1989) point out that the