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A similar but more complicated method works for cubic equations, which have three resolvents and a quadratic equation (the "resolving polynomial") relating and , which one can solve by the quadratic equation, and similarly for a quartic equation (degree 4), whose resolving polynomial is a cubic, which can in turn be solved. [14]
The simplest is the slope-intercept form: = +, from which one can immediately see the slope a and the initial value () =, which is the y-intercept of the graph = (). Given a slope a and one known value () =, we write the point-slope form:
Specifically, a straight line on a log–log plot containing points (x 0, F 0) and (x 1, F 1) will have the function: = (/) (/), Of course, the inverse is true too: any function of the form = will have a straight line as its log–log graph representation, where the slope of the line is m.
Slope illustrated for y = (3/2)x − 1.Click on to enlarge Slope of a line in coordinates system, from f(x) = −12x + 2 to f(x) = 12x + 2. The slope of a line in the plane containing the x and y axes is generally represented by the letter m, [5] and is defined as the change in the y coordinate divided by the corresponding change in the x coordinate, between two distinct points on the line.
If a quadratic function is equated with zero, then the result is a quadratic equation. The solutions of a quadratic equation are the zeros (or roots) of the corresponding quadratic function, of which there can be two, one, or zero. The solutions are described by the quadratic formula. A quadratic polynomial or quadratic function can involve ...
Given two different points (x 1, y 1) and (x 2, y 2), there is exactly one line that passes through them. There are several ways to write a linear equation of this line. If x 1 ≠ x 2, the slope of the line is . Thus, a point-slope form is [3]
These points form a line, and y = x is said to be the equation for this line. In general, linear equations involving x and y specify lines, quadratic equations specify conic sections, and more complicated equations describe more complicated figures. [17] Usually, a single equation corresponds to a curve on the plane.
Curve fitting [1] [2] is the process of constructing a curve, or mathematical function, that has the best fit to a series of data points, [3] possibly subject to constraints. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Curve fitting can involve either interpolation , [ 6 ] [ 7 ] where an exact fit to the data is required, or smoothing , [ 8 ] [ 9 ] in which a "smooth ...