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The gamma function is an important special function in mathematics. Its particular values can be expressed in closed form for integer and half-integer arguments, but no simple expressions are known for the values at rational points in general. Other fractional arguments can be approximated through efficient infinite products, infinite series ...
Quantile. Probability density of a normal distribution, with quantiles shown. The area below the red curve is the same in the intervals (−∞,Q1), (Q1,Q2), (Q2,Q3), and (Q3,+∞). In statistics and probability, quantiles are cut points dividing the range of a probability distribution into continuous intervals with equal probabilities, or ...
In mathematics, a rational number is a number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction of two integers, a numerator p and a non-zero denominator q. [1] For example, is a rational number, as is every integer (e.g., ). The set of all rational numbers, also referred to as " the rationals ", [2] the field of rationals[3] or ...
The fractional part or decimal part[1] of a non‐negative real number is the excess beyond that number's integer part. The latter is defined as the largest integer not greater than x, called floor of x or . Then, the fractional part can be formulated as a difference: . For a positive number written in a conventional positional numeral system ...
A unit fraction is a common fraction with a numerator of 1 (e.g., 1 / 7 ). 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 .
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. It has minimal polynomial
Half-life (symbol t½) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable atoms survive. The term is also used more generally to characterize any type of exponential (or, rarely ...
For example, the sequence 2, 6, 18, 54, ... is a geometric progression with a common ratio of 3. Similarly 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, ... is a geometric sequence with a common ratio of 1/2. Examples of a geometric sequence are powers r k of a fixed non-zero number r, such as 2 k and 3 k. The general form of a geometric sequence is