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The golden ratio φ and its negative reciprocal −φ −1 are the two roots of the quadratic polynomial x 2 − x − 1. The golden ratio's negative −φ and reciprocal φ −1 are the two roots of the quadratic polynomial x 2 + x − 1. The golden ratio is also an algebraic number and even an algebraic integer.
We can also write negative fractions, which represent the opposite of a positive fraction. For example, if 1 / 2 represents a half-dollar profit, then − 1 / 2 represents a half-dollar loss. Because of the rules of division of signed numbers (which states in part that negative divided by positive is negative), − 1 / 2 ...
In mathematics, the harmonic series is the infinite series formed by summing all positive unit fractions: = = + + + + +. The first n {\displaystyle n} terms of the series sum to approximately ln n + γ {\displaystyle \ln n+\gamma } , where ln {\displaystyle \ln } is the natural logarithm and γ ≈ 0.577 {\displaystyle \gamma \approx 0.577 ...
Another meaning for generalized continued fraction is a generalization to higher dimensions. For example, there is a close relationship between the simple continued fraction in canonical form for the irrational real number α, and the way lattice points in two dimensions lie to either side of the line y = αx. Generalizing this idea, one might ...
A quadratic equation is one which includes a term with an exponent of 2, for example, , [40] and no term with higher exponent. The name derives from the Latin quadrus , meaning square. [ 41 ] In general, a quadratic equation can be expressed in the form a x 2 + b x + c = 0 {\displaystyle ax^{2}+bx+c=0} , [ 42 ] where a is not zero (if it were ...
For example, 1 / 4 , 5 / 6 , and −101 / 100 are all irreducible fractions. On the other hand, 2 / 4 is reducible since it is equal in value to 1 / 2 , and the numerator of 1 / 2 is less than the numerator of 2 / 4 . A fraction that is reducible can be reduced by dividing both the numerator ...
For example, 5 is a lower bound for the set S = {5, 8, 42, 34, 13934} (as a subset of the integers or of the real numbers, etc.), and so is 4. On the other hand, 6 is not a lower bound for S since it is not smaller than every element in S. 13934 and other numbers x such that x ≥ 13934 would be an upper bound for S.
In mathematics, an element (or member) of a set is any one of the distinct objects that belong to that set. For example, given a set called A containing the first four positive integers (= {,,,}), one could say that "3 is an element of A", expressed notationally as .