Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Continued fractions can also be applied to problems in number theory, and are especially useful in the study of Diophantine equations. In the late eighteenth century Lagrange used continued fractions to construct the general solution of Pell's equation, thus answering a question that had fascinated mathematicians for more than a thousand years. [9]
By considering the complete quotients of periodic continued fractions, Euler was able to prove that if x is a regular periodic continued fraction, then x is a quadratic irrational number. The proof is straightforward. From the fraction itself, one can construct the quadratic equation with integral coefficients that x must satisfy.
A simple fraction (also known as a common fraction or vulgar fraction, where vulgar is Latin for "common") is a rational number written as a/b or , where a and b are both integers. [9] As with other fractions, the denominator (b) cannot be zero. Examples include 1 / 2 , − 8 / 5 , −8 / 5 , and 8 / −5
The conversion of a repeating balanced ternary number to a fraction is analogous to converting a repeating decimal. For example (because of 111111 bal3 = ( 3 6 − 1 / 3 − 1 ) dec ):
Slices of approximately 1/8 of a pizza. A unit fraction is a positive fraction with one as its numerator, 1/ n.It is the multiplicative inverse (reciprocal) of the denominator of the fraction, which must be a positive natural number.
A fixed-point representation of a fractional number is essentially an integer that is to be implicitly multiplied by a fixed scaling factor. For example, the value 1.23 can be stored in a variable as the integer value 1230 with implicit scaling factor of 1/1000 (meaning that the last 3 decimal digits are implicitly assumed to be a decimal fraction), and the value 1 230 000 can be represented ...
[2] [3] [4] The factor–label method is the sequential application of conversion factors expressed as fractions and arranged so that any dimensional unit appearing in both the numerator and denominator of any of the fractions can be cancelled out until only the desired set of dimensional units is obtained.
A vinculum can indicate a line segment where A and B are the endpoints: ¯. A vinculum can indicate the repetend of a repeating decimal value: . 1 ⁄ 7 = 0. 142857 = 0.1428571428571428571...