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In mathematics, a rational function is any function that can be defined by a rational fraction, which is an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator are polynomials. The coefficients of the polynomials need not be rational numbers ; they may be taken in any field K .
In mathematics, "rational" is often used as a noun abbreviating "rational number". The adjective rational sometimes means that the coefficients are rational numbers. For example, a rational point is a point with rational coordinates (i.e., a point whose coordinates are rational numbers); a rational matrix is a matrix of rational numbers; a rational polynomial may be a polynomial with rational ...
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.
[2] [3] Rational fractions are also known as rational expressions. A rational fraction () is called proper if < (), and improper otherwise. For example, the rational fraction is proper, and the rational fractions + + + and + + are improper. Any improper rational fraction can be expressed as the sum of a polynomial (possibly constant ...
An equivalent definition is sometimes useful: if a and b are integers, then the fraction a / b is irreducible if and only if there is no other equal fraction c / d such that | c | < | a | or | d | < | b |, where | a | means the absolute value of a. [4] (Two fractions a / b and c / d are equal or equivalent if and ...
Rational numbers have been widely used a long time before the elaboration of the concept of field. They are numbers that can be written as fractions a/b, where a and b are integers, and b ≠ 0. The additive inverse of such a fraction is −a/b, and the multiplicative inverse (provided that a ≠ 0) is b/a, which can be seen as follows:
A rational fraction is the quotient (algebraic fraction) of two polynomials. Any algebraic expression that can be rewritten as a rational fraction is a rational function. While polynomial functions are defined for all values of the variables, a rational function is defined only for the values of the variables for which the denominator is not zero.
The field of fractions of an integral domain is sometimes denoted by or (), and the construction is sometimes also called the fraction field, field of quotients, or quotient field of . All four are in common usage, but are not to be confused with the quotient of a ring by an ideal , which is a quite different concept.