Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A solution in radicals or algebraic solution is an expression of a solution of a polynomial equation that is algebraic, that is, relies only on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to integer powers, and extraction of n th roots (square roots, cube roots, etc.). A well-known example is the quadratic formula
In the case of two nested square roots, the following theorem completely solves the problem of denesting. [2]If a and c are rational numbers and c is not the square of a rational number, there are two rational numbers x and y such that + = if and only if is the square of a rational number d.
Since taking the square root is the same as raising to the power 1 / 2 , the following is also an algebraic expression: 1 − x 2 1 + x 2 {\displaystyle {\sqrt {\frac {1-x^{2}}{1+x^{2}}}}} An algebraic equation is an equation involving polynomials , for which algebraic expressions may be solutions .
The four 4th roots of −1, none of which are real The three 3rd roots of −1, one of which is a negative real. An n th root of a number x, where n is a positive integer, is any of the n real or complex numbers r whose nth power is x:
A solution of an equation is often called a root of the equation, particularly but not only for polynomial equations. The set of all solutions of an equation is its solution set. An equation may be solved either numerically or symbolically. Solving an equation numerically means that only numbers are admitted as solutions.
Denoting the two roots by r 1 and r 2 we distinguish three cases. If the discriminant is zero the fraction converges to the single root of multiplicity two. If the discriminant is not zero, and |r 1 | ≠ |r 2 |, the continued fraction converges to the root of maximum modulus (i.e., to the root with the greater absolute value).
Inverting this process allows square roots to be found, and similarly for the powers 3, 1/3, 2/3, and 3/2. Care must be taken when the base, x, is found in more than one place on its scale. For instance, there are two nines on the A scale; to find the square root of nine, use the first one; the second one gives the square root of 90.
The number of roots of a nonzero polynomial P, counted with their respective multiplicities, cannot exceed the degree of P, [25] and equals this degree if all complex roots are considered (this is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of algebra). The coefficients of a polynomial and its roots are related by Vieta's formulas.