Expression (mathematics) in the context of Function (mathematics)

Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic operations other than the standard arithmetic operations, such as addition and multiplication.

Elementary algebra is the main form of algebra taught in schools. It examines mathematical statements using variables for unspecified values and seeks to determine for which values the statements are true. To do so, it uses different methods of transforming equations to isolate variables. Linear algebra is a closely related field that investigates linear equations and combinations of them called systems of linear equations. It provides methods to find the values that solve all equations in the system at the same time, and to study the set of these solutions.

A mathematical object is an abstract concept arising in mathematics. Typically, a mathematical object can be a value that can be assigned to a symbol, and therefore can be involved in formulas. Commonly encountered mathematical objects include numbers, expressions, shapes, functions, and sets. Mathematical objects can be very complex; for example, theorems, proofs, and even formal theories are considered as mathematical objects in proof theory.

In philosophy of mathematics, the concept of "mathematical objects" touches on topics of existence, identity, and the nature of reality. In metaphysics, objects are often considered entities that possess properties and can stand in various relations to one another. Philosophers debate whether mathematical objects have an independent existence outside of human thought (realism), or if their existence is dependent on mental constructs or language (idealism and nominalism). Objects can range from the concrete: such as physical objects usually studied in applied mathematics, to the abstract, studied in pure mathematics. What constitutes an "object" is foundational to many areas of philosophy, from ontology (the study of being) to epistemology (the study of knowledge). In mathematics, objects are often seen as entities that exist independently of the physical world, raising questions about their ontological status. There are varying schools of thought which offer different perspectives on the matter, and many famous mathematicians and philosophers each have differing opinions on which is more correct.

In mathematics, an equation is a mathematical 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.

In mathematics, a symbolic language is a language that uses characters or symbols to represent concepts, such as mathematical operations, expressions, and statements, and the entities or operands on which the operations are performed.

In mathematics, a law is a formula that is always true within a given context. Laws describe a relationship, between two or more expressions or terms (which may contain variables), usually using equality or inequality, or between formulas themselves, for instance, in mathematical logic. For example, the formula ${\displaystyle a^{2}\geq 0}$ is true for all real numbers a, and is therefore a law. Laws over an equality are called identities. For example, ${\displaystyle (a+b)^{2}=a^{2}+2ab+b^{2}}$ and ${\displaystyle \cos ^{2}\theta +\sin ^{2}\theta =1}$ are identities. Mathematical laws are distinguished from scientific laws which are based on observations, and try to describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The more significant laws are often called theorems.

In mathematics, a linear equation is an equation that may be put in the form${\displaystyle a_{1}x_{1}+\ldots +a_{n}x_{n}+b=0,}$ where ${\displaystyle x_{1},\ldots ,x_{n}}$ are the variables (or unknowns), and ${\displaystyle b,a_{1},\ldots ,a_{n}}$ are the coefficients, which are often real numbers. The coefficients may be considered as parameters of the equation and may be arbitrary expressions, provided they do not contain any of the variables. To yield a meaningful equation, the coefficients ${\displaystyle a_{1},\ldots ,a_{n}}$ are required to not all be zero.

Alternatively, a linear equation can be obtained by equating to zero a linear polynomial over some field, from which the coefficients are taken.

Unlike most other elementary shapes, such as the circle and square, there is no closed-form expression for the perimeter of an ellipse. Throughout history, a large number of closed-form approximations and expressions in terms of integrals or series have been given for the perimeter of an ellipse.

In mathematics, a polynomial is a mathematical expression consisting of indeterminates (also called variables) and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and exponentiation to nonnegative integer powers, and has a finite number of terms. An example of a polynomial of a single indeterminate ${\displaystyle x}$ is ${\displaystyle x^{2}-4x+7}$. An example with three indeterminates is ${\displaystyle x^{3}+2xyz^{2}-yz+1}$.

Polynomials appear in many areas of mathematics and science. For example, they are used to form polynomial equations, which encode a wide range of problems, from elementary word problems to complicated scientific problems; they are used to define polynomial functions, which appear in settings ranging from basic chemistry and physics to economics and social science; and they are used in calculus and numerical analysis to approximate other functions. In advanced mathematics, polynomials are used to construct polynomial rings and algebraic varieties, which are central concepts in algebra and algebraic geometry.

A subscript or superscript is a character (such as a number or letter) that is set slightly below or above the normal line of type, respectively. It is usually smaller than the rest of the text. Subscripts appear at or below the baseline, while superscripts are above. Subscripts and superscripts are often used in formulas, mathematical expressions, and specifications of chemical compounds and isotopes, but have many other uses as well.

In professional typography, subscript and superscript characters are not simply ordinary characters reduced in size; to keep them visually consistent with the rest of the font, typeface designers make them slightly heavier (i.e. medium or bold typography) than a reduced-size character would be. The vertical distance that sub- or superscripted text is moved from the original baseline varies by typeface and by use.

In mathematics, a square is the result of multiplying a number by itself. The verb "to square" is used to denote this operation. Squaring is the same as raising to the power 2, and is denoted by a superscript 2; for instance, the square of 3 may be written as 3, which is the number 9.In some cases when superscripts are not available, as for instance in programming languages or plain text files, the notations x^2 (caret) or x**2 may be used in place of x.The adjective which corresponds to squaring is quadratic.

The square of an integer may also be called a square number or a perfect square. In algebra, the operation of squaring is often generalized to polynomials, other expressions, or values in systems of mathematical values other than the numbers. For instance, the square of the linear polynomial x + 1 is the quadratic polynomial (x + 1) = x + 2x + 1.

In mathematics, equality is a relationship between two quantities or expressions, stating that they have the same value, or represent the same mathematical object. Equality between A and B is denoted with an equals sign as A = B, and read "A equals B". A written expression of equality is called an equation or identity depending on the context. Two objects that are not equal are said to be distinct.

Equality is often considered a primitive notion, meaning it is not formally defined, but rather informally said to be "a relation each thing bears to itself and nothing else". This characterization is notably circular ("nothing else"), reflecting a general conceptual difficulty in fully characterizing the concept. Basic properties about equality like reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity have been understood intuitively since at least the ancient Greeks, but were not symbolically stated as general properties of relations until the late 19th century by Giuseppe Peano. Other properties like substitution and function application weren't formally stated until the development of symbolic logic.

The equals sign (British English) or equal sign (American English), also known as the equality sign, is the mathematical symbol =, which is used to indicate equality. In an equation it is placed between two expressions that have the same value, or for which one studies the conditions under which they have the same value.

In Unicode and ASCII it has the code point U+003D. It was invented in 1557 by the Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde.

In mathematics, to solve an equation is to find the solutions of an equation, which are the values (numbers, functions, sets, etc.) that fulfill the condition stated by the equation, consisting generally of two expressions related by an equals sign. When seeking a solution, one or more variables are designated as unknowns. A solution is an assignment of values to the unknown variables that makes the equality in the equation true. In other words, a solution is a value or a collection of values (one for each unknown) such that, when substituted for the unknowns, the equation becomes an equality.A solution of an equation is often called a root of the equation, particularly but not only for polynomial equations. The set of all solutions of an equation is its solution set.

An equation may be solved either numerically or symbolically. Solving an equation numerically means that only numbers are admitted as solutions. Solving an equation symbolically means that expressions can be used for representing the solutions.

In mathematics, a linear combination or superposition is an expression constructed from a set of terms by multiplying each term by a constant and adding the results (e.g. a linear combination of x and y would be any expression of the form ax + by, where a and b are constants). The concept of linear combinations is central to linear algebra and related fields of mathematics. Most of this article deals with linear combinations in the context of a vector space over a field, with some generalizations given at the end of the article.

In mathematics, a coefficient is a multiplicative factor involved in some term of a polynomial, a series, or any other type of expression. It may be a number without units, in which case it is known as a numerical factor. It may also be a constant with units of measurement, in which it is known as a constant multiplier. In general, coefficients may be any expression (including variables such as a, b and c). When the combination of variables and constants is not necessarily involved in a product, it may be called a parameter. For example, the polynomial ${\displaystyle 2x^{2}-x+3}$ has coefficients 2, −1, and 3, and the powers of the variable ${\displaystyle x}$ in the polynomial ${\displaystyle ax^{2}+bx+c}$ have coefficient parameters ${\displaystyle a}$, ${\displaystyle b}$, and ${\displaystyle c}$.

A constant coefficient, also known as constant term or simply constant, is a quantity either implicitly attached to the zeroth power of a variable or not attached to other variables in an expression; for example, the constant coefficients of the expressions above are the number 3 and the parameter c, involved in 3=c⋅x. The coefficient attached to the highest degree of the variable in a polynomial of one variable is referred to as the leading coefficient; for example, in the example expressions above, the leading coefficients are 2 and a, respectively.

A continued fraction is a mathematical expression written as a fraction whose denominator contains a sum involving another fraction, which may itself be a simple or a continued fraction. If this iteration (repetitive process) terminates with a simple fraction, the result is a finite continued fraction; if it continues indefinitely, the result is an infinite continued fraction. The special case in which all numerators are equal to one is referred to as a simple (or regular) continued fraction. Any rational number can be expressed as a finite simple continued fraction, and any irrational number can be expressed as an infinite simple continued fraction.

Different areas of mathematics use different terminology and notation for continued fractions. In number theory, the unqualified term continued fraction usually refers to simple continued fractions, whereas the general case is referred to as generalized continued fractions. In complex analysis and numerical analysis, the general case is usually referred to by the unqualified term continued fraction.