Doing math is figuring out what some of those relationships are. This process does involve computations, procedures, and algorithms, but these make up only part of the picture. The whole point of learning about these activities is to facilitate and expedite the discovery of relationships. Rules and Other Tools Rules and definitions are meant to ensure that everyone interprets a problem the same way. Computations give you practice working with procedures and rules and foster an understanding of many different relationships.
Formulas are relationships.
For example, the formulas for the area of a triangle or the circumference of a circle are widely known and widely used relationships. These formulas were discovered long ago and everyone agrees they are true. It is possible to rediscover or to prove these formulas for yourself, although most of us never do. Formulas are useful for finding exact or approximate values for the variable quantities in the formula. Formulas can also be used to discover new relationships or to predict future events.