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A rational algebraic expression (or rational expression) is an algebraic expression that can be written as a quotient of polynomials, such as x 2 + 4x + 4. An irrational algebraic expression is one that is not rational, such as √ x + 4.
This can be expressed more concisely by using summation notation: = That is, a polynomial can either be zero or can be written as the sum of a finite number of non-zero terms. Each term consists of the product of a number – called the coefficient of the term [ a ] – and a finite number of indeterminates, raised to non-negative integer powers.
The roots of the quadratic function y = 1 / 2 x 2 − 3x + 5 / 2 are the places where the graph intersects the x-axis, the values x = 1 and x = 5. They can be found via the quadratic formula. In elementary algebra, the quadratic formula is a closed-form expression describing the solutions of a quadratic equation.
If the original fact were stated as "ab = 0 implies a = 0 or b = 0", then when saying "consider abc = 0," we would have a conflict of terms when substituting. Yet the above logic is still valid to show that if abc = 0 then a = 0 or b = 0 or c = 0 if, instead of letting a = a and b = bc , one substitutes a for a and b for bc (and with bc = 0 ...
One particular solution is x = 0, y = 0, z = 0. Two other solutions are x = 3, y = 6, z = 1 , and x = 8, y = 9, z = 2 . There is a unique plane in three-dimensional space which passes through the three points with these coordinates , and this plane is the set of all points whose coordinates are solutions of the equation.
Then an equation expressing y as an implicit function of the other variables can be written. The defining equation R ( x , y ) = 0 can also have other pathologies. For example, the equation x = 0 does not imply a function f ( x ) giving solutions for y at all; it is a vertical line.
A variable may denote an unknown number that has to be determined; in which case, it is called an unknown; for example, in the quadratic equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0, the variables a, b, c are parameters, and x is the unknown. Sometimes the same symbol can be used to denote both a variable and a constant, that is a
For example, the ratio 4:5 can be written as 1:1.25 (dividing both sides by 4) Alternatively, it can be written as 0.8:1 (dividing both sides by 5). Where the context makes the meaning clear, a ratio in this form is sometimes written without the 1 and the ratio symbol (:), though, mathematically, this makes it a factor or multiplier .