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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 ...
, particularly in
algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...
, an indeterminate equation is an
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 ...
for which there is more than one solution. For example, the equation ax + by =c is a simple indeterminate equation, as is x^2=1. Indeterminate equations cannot be solved uniquely. In fact, in some cases it might even have infinitely many solutions. Some of the prominent examples of indeterminate equations include:
Univariate In mathematics, a univariate object is an expression, equation, function or polynomial involving only one variable. Objects involving more than one variable are multivariate. In some cases the distinction between the univariate and multivariate cas ...
polynomial equation In mathematics, an algebraic equation or polynomial equation is an equation of the form :P = 0 where ''P'' is a polynomial with coefficients in some field, often the field of the rational numbers. For many authors, the term ''algebraic equation' ...
: :a_nx^n+a_x^+\dots +a_2x^2+a_1x+a_0 = 0, which has multiple solutions for the variable x in the
complex plane In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the -axis, called the imaginary axis, is formed by the ...
—unless it can be rewritten in the form a_n(x-b)^n = 0.
Non-degenerate In mathematics, specifically linear algebra, a degenerate bilinear form on a vector space ''V'' is a bilinear form such that the map from ''V'' to ''V''∗ (the dual space of ''V'' ) given by is not an isomorphism. An equivalent defin ...
conic equation: :Ax^2 + Bxy + Cy^2 +Dx + Ey + F = 0, where at least one of the given
parameters A parameter (), generally, is any characteristic that can help in defining or classifying a particular system (meaning an event, project, object, situation, etc.). That is, a parameter is an element of a system that is useful, or critical, when ...
A, B, and C is non-zero, and x and y are
real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
variables.
Pell's equation Pell's equation, also called the Pell–Fermat equation, is any Diophantine equation of the form x^2 - ny^2 = 1, where ''n'' is a given positive nonsquare integer, and integer solutions are sought for ''x'' and ''y''. In Cartesian coordinate ...
: :\ x^2 - Py^2 = 1, where P is a given
integer An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign (−1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the language ...
that is not a
square number In mathematics, a square number or perfect square is an integer that is the square (algebra), square of an integer; in other words, it is the multiplication, product of some integer with itself. For example, 9 is a square number, since it equals ...
, and in which the variables x and y are required to be integers. The equation of
Pythagorean triple A Pythagorean triple consists of three positive integers , , and , such that . Such a triple is commonly written , and a well-known example is . If is a Pythagorean triple, then so is for any positive integer . A primitive Pythagorean triple is ...
s: :x^2+y^2=z^2, in which the variables x, y, and z are required to be positive integers. The equation of the
Fermat–Catalan conjecture In number theory, the Fermat–Catalan conjecture is a generalization of Fermat's Last Theorem and of Catalan's conjecture, hence the name. The conjecture states that the equation has only finitely many solutions (''a'',''b'',''c'',''m'',''n'','' ...
: :a^m+b^n=c^k, in which the variables a, b, c are required to be
coprime In mathematics, two integers and are coprime, relatively prime or mutually prime if the only positive integer that is a divisor of both of them is 1. Consequently, any prime number that divides does not divide , and vice versa. This is equivale ...
positive integers, and the variables m, n, and k are required to be positive integers satisfying the following equation: : \frac + \frac + \frac < 1.


See also

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Indeterminate form 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 su ...
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Indeterminate system In mathematics, particularly in algebra, an indeterminate system is a system of simultaneous equations (e.g., linear equations) which has more than one solution (sometimes infinitely many solutions). In the case of a linear system, the system may b ...
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Indeterminate (variable) In mathematics, particularly in formal algebra, an indeterminate is a symbol that is treated as a variable, but does not stand for anything else except itself. It may be used as a placeholder in objects such as polynomials and formal power series ...
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Linear algebra Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations such as: :a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n=b, linear maps such as: :(x_1, \ldots, x_n) \mapsto a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n, and their representations in vector spaces and through matrices. ...


References

Algebra {{algebra-stub