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Constant (mathematics)
In mathematics, the word constant conveys multiple meanings. As an adjective, it refers to non-variance (i.e. unchanging with respect to some other value); as a noun, it has two different meanings: * A fixed and well-defined number or other non-changing mathematical object. The terms '' mathematical constant'' or '' physical constant'' are sometimes used to distinguish this meaning. * A function whose value remains unchanged (i.e., a constant function). Such a constant is commonly represented by a variable which does not depend on the main variable(s) in question. For example, a general quadratic function is commonly written as: :a x^2 + b x + c\, , where , and are constants (or parameters), and a variable—a placeholder for the argument of the function being studied. A more explicit way to denote this function is :x\mapsto a x^2 + b x + c \, , which makes the function-argument status of (and by extension the constancy of , and ) clear. In this example , and ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graph Of A Function
In mathematics, the graph of a function f is the set of ordered pairs (x, y), where f(x) = y. In the common case where x and f(x) are real numbers, these pairs are Cartesian coordinates of points in two-dimensional space and thus form a subset of this plane. In the case of functions of two variables, that is functions whose domain consists of pairs (x, y), the graph usually refers to the set of ordered triples (x, y, z) where f(x,y) = z, instead of the pairs ((x, y), z) as in the definition above. This set is a subset of three-dimensional space; for a continuous real-valued function of two real variables, it is a surface. In science, engineering, technology, finance, and other areas, graphs are tools used for many purposes. In the simplest case one variable is plotted as a function of another, typically using rectangular axes; see '' Plot (graphics)'' for details. A graph of a function is a special case of a relation. In the modern foundations of mathematics, and, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constant Of Integration
In calculus, the constant of integration, often denoted by C (or c), is a constant term added to an antiderivative of a function f(x) to indicate that the indefinite integral of f(x) (i.e., the set of all antiderivatives of f(x)), on a connected domain, is only defined up to an additive constant. This constant expresses an ambiguity inherent in the construction of antiderivatives. More specifically, if a function f(x) is defined on an interval, and F(x) is an antiderivative of f(x), then the set of ''all'' antiderivatives of f(x) is given by the functions F(x) + C, where C is an arbitrary constant (meaning that ''any'' value of C would make F(x) + C a valid antiderivative). For that reason, the indefinite integral is often written as \int f(x) \, dx = F(x) + C, although the constant of integration might be sometimes omitted in lists of integrals for simplicity. Origin The derivative of any constant function is zero. Once one has found one antiderivative F(x) for a function f( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limit (mathematics)
In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the input (or index) approaches some value. Limits are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals. The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to limit and direct limit in category theory. In formulas, a limit of a function is usually written as : \lim_ f(x) = L, (although a few authors may use "Lt" instead of "lim") and is read as "the limit of of as approaches equals ". The fact that a function approaches the limit as approaches is sometimes denoted by a right arrow (→ or \rightarrow), as in :f(x) \to L \text x \to c, which reads "f of x tends to L as x tends to c". History Grégoire de Saint-Vincent gave the first definition of limit (terminus) of a geometric series in his work ''Opus Geometricum'' (1647): "The ''terminus'' of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiderivative
In calculus, an antiderivative, inverse derivative, primitive function, primitive integral or indefinite integral of a function is a differentiable function whose derivative is equal to the original function . This can be stated symbolically as . The process of solving for antiderivatives is called antidifferentiation (or indefinite integration), and its opposite operation is called ''differentiation'', which is the process of finding a derivative. Antiderivatives are often denoted by capital Roman letters such as and . Antiderivatives are related to definite integrals through the second fundamental theorem of calculus: the definite integral of a function over a closed interval where the function is Riemann integrable is equal to the difference between the values of an antiderivative evaluated at the endpoints of the interval. In physics, antiderivatives arise in the context of rectilinear motion (e.g., in explaining the relationship between position, velocity and acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. For example, the derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object changes when time advances. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the "instantaneous rate of change", the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. Derivatives can be generalized to functions of several real variables. In this generalization, the de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus; the former concerns instantaneous rates of change, and the slopes of curves, while the latter concerns accumulation of quantities, and areas under or between curves. These two branches are related to each other by the fundamental theorem of calculus, and they make use of the fundamental notions of convergence of infinite sequences and infinite series to a well-defined limit. Infinitesimal calculus was developed independently in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Later work, including codifying the idea of limits, put these developments on a more solid conceptual footing. Today, calculus has widespread uses in scienc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Ratio
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0, where the Greek letter phi ( or \phi) denotes the golden ratio. The constant \varphi satisfies the quadratic equation \varphi^2 = \varphi + 1 and is an irrational number with a value of The golden ratio was called the extreme and mean ratio by Euclid, and the divine proportion by Luca Pacioli, and also goes by several other names. Mathematicians have studied the golden ratio's properties since antiquity. It is the ratio of a regular pentagon's diagonal to its side and thus appears in the construction of the dodecahedron and icosahedron. A golden rectangle—that is, a rectangle with an aspect ratio of \varphi—may be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio. The golden ratio has been used to analyze the proportions of natural obj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Square Root Of 2
The square root of 2 (approximately 1.4142) is a positive real number that, when multiplied by itself, equals the number 2. It may be written in mathematics as \sqrt or 2^, and is an algebraic number. Technically, it should be called the principal square root of 2, to distinguish it from the negative number with the same property. Geometrically, the square root of 2 is the length of a diagonal across a square with sides of one unit of length; this follows from the Pythagorean theorem. It was probably the first number known to be irrational. The fraction (≈ 1.4142857) is sometimes used as a good rational approximation with a reasonably small denominator. Sequence in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences consists of the digits in the decimal expansion of the square root of 2, here truncated to 65 decimal places: : History The Babylonian clay tablet YBC 7289 (c. 1800–1600 BC) gives an approximation of in four sexagesimal figures, , which is accurate to abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imaginary Unit
The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number () is a solution to the quadratic equation x^2+1=0. Although there is no real number with this property, can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex numbers, using addition and multiplication. A simple example of the use of in a complex number is 2+3i. Imaginary numbers are an important mathematical concept; they extend the real number system \mathbb to the complex number system \mathbb, in which at least one root for every nonconstant polynomial exists (see Algebraic closure and Fundamental theorem of algebra). Here, the term "imaginary" is used because there is no real number having a negative square. There are two complex square roots of −1: and -i, just as there are two complex square roots of every real number other than zero (which has one double square root). In contexts in which use of the letter is ambiguous or problematic, the letter or the Greek \iota is sometimes used instead. For exa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
E (mathematical Constant)
The number , also known as Euler's number, is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that can be characterized in many ways. It is the base of the natural logarithms. It is the limit of as approaches infinity, an expression that arises in the study of compound interest. It can also be calculated as the sum of the infinite series e = \sum\limits_^ \frac = 1 + \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots. It is also the unique positive number such that the graph of the function has a slope of 1 at . The (natural) exponential function is the unique function that equals its own derivative and satisfies the equation ; hence one can also define as . The natural logarithm, or logarithm to base , is the inverse function to the natural exponential function. The natural logarithm of a number can be defined directly as the area under the curve between and , in which case is the value of for which this area equals one (see image). There are various other characteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ratio 4:3). Similarly, the ratio of lemons to oranges is 6:8 (or 3:4) and the ratio of oranges to the total amount of fruit is 8:14 (or 4:7). The numbers in a ratio may be quantities of any kind, such as counts of people or objects, or such as measurements of lengths, weights, time, etc. In most contexts, both numbers are restricted to be positive. A ratio may be specified either by giving both constituting numbers, written as "''a'' to ''b''" or "''a'':''b''", or by giving just the value of their quotient Equal quotients correspond to equal ratios. Consequently, a ratio may be considered as an ordered pair of numbers, a fraction with the first number in the numerator and the second in the denominator, or as the value denoted by this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
