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Algebraic operations in the solution to the quadratic equation.The radical sign √, denoting a square root, is equivalent to exponentiation to the power of 1 / 2 .The ± sign means the equation can be written with either a + or a – sign.
If we solve this equation, we find that x = 2. More generally, we find that + + + + is the positive real root of the equation x 3 − x − n = 0 for all n > 0. For n = 1, this root is the plastic ratio ρ, approximately equal to 1.3247.
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
A continued fraction is an expression of the form = + + + + + where the a n (n > 0) are the partial numerators, the b n are the partial denominators, and the leading term b 0 is called the integer part of the continued fraction.
Algebraic operations in the solution to the quadratic equation.The radical sign √, denoting a square root, is equivalent to exponentiation to the power of 1 / 2 .The ± sign means the equation can be written with either a + or a – sign.
For example, the process of rewriting a fraction into one with the smallest whole-number denominator possible (while keeping the numerator a whole number) is called "reducing a fraction". Rewriting a radical (or "root") expression with the smallest possible whole number under the radical symbol is called "reducing a radical".
Unit fractions can also be expressed using negative exponents, as in 2 −1, which represents 1/2, and 2 −2, which represents 1/(2 2) or 1/4. A dyadic fraction is a common fraction in which the denominator is a power of two , e.g. 1 / 8 = 1 / 2 3 .
By applying the fundamental recurrence formulas we may easily compute the successive convergents of this continued fraction to be 1, 3/2, 7/5, 17/12, 41/29, 99/70, 239/169, ..., where each successive convergent is formed by taking the numerator plus the denominator of the preceding term as the denominator in the next term, then adding in the ...