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Clearing Fractions
In mathematics, the method of clearing denominators, also called clearing fractions, is a technique for simplifying an equation equating two expressions that each are a sum of rational expressions – which includes simple fractions. Example Consider the equation : \frac x 6 + \frac y = 1. The smallest common multiple of the two denominators 6 and 15''z'' is 30''z'', so one multiplies both sides by 30''z'': : 5xz + 2y = 30z. \, The result is an equation with no fractions. The simplified equation is not entirely equivalent to the original. For when we substitute and in the last equation, both sides simplify to 0, so we get , a mathematical truth. But the same substitution applied to the original equation results in , which is mathematically meaningless. Description Without loss of generality, we may assume that the right-hand side of the equation is 0, since an equation may equivalently be rewritten in the form . So let the equation have the form :\sum_^n \frac = ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equation
In mathematics, an equation is a formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for example, in French an ''équation'' is defined as containing one or more variables, while in English, any well-formed formula consisting of two expressions related with an equals sign is an equation. ''Solving'' an equation containing variables consists of determining which values of the variables make the equality true. The variables for which the equation has to be solved are also called unknowns, and the values of the unknowns that satisfy the equality are called solutions of the equation. There are two kinds of equations: identities and conditional equations. An identity is true for all values of the variables. A conditional equation is only true for particular values of the variables. An equation is written as two expressions, connected by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rational Function
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 this case, one speaks of a rational function and a rational fraction ''over K''. The values of the variables may be taken in any field ''L'' containing ''K''. Then the domain of the function is the set of the values of the variables for which the denominator is not zero, and the codomain is ''L''. The set of rational functions over a field ''K'' is a field, the field of fractions of the ring of the polynomial functions over ''K''. Definitions A function f(x) is called a rational function if and only if it can be written in the form : f(x) = \frac where P\, and Q\, are polynomial functions of x\, and Q\, is not the zero function. The domain of f\, is the set of all values of x\ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fraction (mathematics)
A fraction (from la, fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A ''common'', ''vulgar'', or ''simple'' fraction (examples: \tfrac and \tfrac) consists of a numerator, displayed above a line (or before a slash like ), and a non-zero denominator, displayed below (or after) that line. Numerators and denominators are also used in fractions that are not ''common'', including compound fractions, complex fractions, and mixed numerals. In positive common fractions, the numerator and denominator are natural numbers. The numerator represents a number of equal parts, and the denominator indicates how many of those parts make up a unit or a whole. The denominator cannot be zero, because zero parts can never make up a whole. For example, in the fraction , the numerator 3 indicates that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Common Multiple
In arithmetic and number theory, the least common multiple, lowest common multiple, or smallest common multiple of two integers ''a'' and ''b'', usually denoted by lcm(''a'', ''b''), is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by both ''a'' and ''b''. Since division of integers by zero is undefined, this definition has meaning only if ''a'' and ''b'' are both different from zero. However, some authors define lcm(''a'',0) as 0 for all ''a'', since 0 is the only common multiple of ''a'' and 0. The lcm is the "lowest common denominator" (lcd) that can be used before fractions can be added, subtracted or compared. The least common multiple of more than two integers ''a'', ''b'', ''c'', . . . , usually denoted by lcm(''a'', ''b'', ''c'', . . .), is also well defined: It is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by each of ''a'', ''b'', ''c'', . . . Overview A multiple of a number is the product of that number and an integer. For example, 10 is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Divided By Zero
In calculus and other branches of mathematical analysis, limits involving an algebraic combination of functions in an independent variable may often be evaluated by replacing these functions by their limits; if the expression obtained after this substitution does not provide sufficient information to determine the original limit, then the expression is called an indeterminate form. More specifically, an indeterminate form is a mathematical expression involving at most two of 0~, 1 or \infty, obtained by applying the algebraic limit theorem in the process of attempting to determine a limit, which fails to restrict that limit to one specific value or infinity, and thus does not determine the limit being sought. A limit confirmed to be infinity is not indeterminate since it has been determined to have a specific value (infinity). The term was originally introduced by Cauchy's student Moigno in the middle of the 19th century. There are seven indeterminate forms which are typically cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Without Loss Of Generality
''Without loss of generality'' (often abbreviated to WOLOG, WLOG or w.l.o.g.; less commonly stated as ''without any loss of generality'' or ''with no loss of generality'') is a frequently used expression in mathematics. The term is used to indicate the assumption that follows is chosen arbitrarily, narrowing the premise to a particular case, but does not affect the validity of the proof in general. The other cases are sufficiently similar to the one presented that proving them follows by essentially the same logic. As a result, once a proof is given for the particular case, it is trivial to adapt it to prove the conclusion in all other cases. In many scenarios, the use of "without loss of generality" is made possible by the presence of symmetry. For example, if some property ''P''(''x'',''y'') of real numbers is known to be symmetric in ''x'' and ''y'', namely that ''P''(''x'',''y'') is equivalent to ''P''(''y'',''x''), then in proving that ''P''(''x'',''y'') holds for every ''x'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Right-hand Side
In mathematics, LHS is informal shorthand for the left-hand side of an equation. Similarly, RHS is the right-hand side. The two sides have the same value, expressed differently, since equality is symmetric. definition and example of abbreviation More generally, these terms may apply to an or ; the right-hand side is ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Common Denominator
In mathematics, the lowest common denominator or least common denominator (abbreviated LCD) is the lowest common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. It simplifies adding, subtracting, and comparing fractions. Description The lowest common denominator of a set of fractions is the lowest number that is a multiple of all the denominators: their lowest common multiple. The product of the denominators is always a common denominator, as in: : \frac+\frac\;=\;\frac+\frac\;=\;\frac but it is not always the lowest common denominator, as in: : \frac+\frac\;=\;\frac+\frac\;=\;\frac Here, 36 is the least common multiple of 12 and 18. Their product, 216, is also a common denominator, but calculating with that denominator involves larger numbers: : \frac+\frac=\frac+\frac=\frac. With variables rather than numbers, the same principles apply: : \frac+\frac\;=\;\frac+\frac\;=\;\frac Some methods of calculating the LCD are at . Role in arithmetic and algebra The sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiplication
Multiplication (often denoted by the cross symbol , by the mid-line dot operator , by juxtaposition, or, on computers, by an asterisk ) is one of the four elementary mathematical operations of arithmetic, with the other ones being addition, subtraction, and division. The result of a multiplication operation is called a ''product''. The multiplication of whole numbers may be thought of as repeated addition; that is, the multiplication of two numbers is equivalent to adding as many copies of one of them, the ''multiplicand'', as the quantity of the other one, the ''multiplier''. Both numbers can be referred to as ''factors''. :a\times b = \underbrace_ For example, 4 multiplied by 3, often written as 3 \times 4 and spoken as "3 times 4", can be calculated by adding 3 copies of 4 together: :3 \times 4 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 Here, 3 (the ''multiplier'') and 4 (the ''multiplicand'') are the ''factors'', and 12 is the ''product''. One of the main properties of multiplication is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Of A Function
In mathematics, a zero (also sometimes called a root) of a real-, complex-, or generally vector-valued function f, is a member x of the domain of f such that f(x) ''vanishes'' at x; that is, the function f attains the value of 0 at x, or equivalently, x is the solution to the equation f(x) = 0. A "zero" of a function is thus an input value that produces an output of 0. A root of a polynomial is a zero of the corresponding polynomial function. The fundamental theorem of algebra shows that any non-zero polynomial has a number of roots at most equal to its degree, and that the number of roots and the degree are equal when one considers the complex roots (or more generally, the roots in an algebraically closed extension) counted with their multiplicities. For example, the polynomial f of degree two, defined by f(x)=x^2-5x+6 has the two roots (or zeros) that are 2 and 3. f(2)=2^2-5\times 2+6= 0\textf(3)=3^2-5\times 3+6=0. If the function maps real numbers to real numbers, then it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unknown (mathematics)
In mathematics, an equation is a formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for example, in French an ''équation'' is defined as containing one or more variables, while in English, any well-formed formula consisting of two expressions related with an equals sign is an equation. ''Solving'' an equation containing variables consists of determining which values of the variables make the equality true. The variables for which the equation has to be solved are also called unknowns, and the values of the unknowns that satisfy the equality are called solutions of the equation. There are two kinds of equations: identities and conditional equations. An identity is true for all values of the variables. A conditional equation is only true for particular values of the variables. An equation is written as two expressions, connected by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
