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Quadratic formula. The roots of the quadratic function y = 1 2 x2 − 3x + 5 2 are the places where the graph intersects the x -axis, the values x = 1 and x = 5. They can be found via the quadratic formula. In elementary algebra, the quadratic formula is a closed-form expression describing the solutions of a quadratic equation.
In mathematics, Descartes' rule of signs, described by René Descartes in his La Géométrie, counts the roots of a polynomial by examining sign changes in its coefficients. The number of positive real roots is at most the number of sign changes in the sequence of polynomial's coefficients (omitting zero coefficients), and the difference ...
Square root. Notation for the (principal) square root of x. For example, √ 25 = 5, since 25 = 5 ⋅ 5, or 52 (5 squared). In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number y such that ; in other words, a number y whose square (the result of multiplying the number by itself, or ) is x. [ 1] For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16 ...
Negative number. This thermometer is indicating a negative Fahrenheit temperature (−4 °F). In mathematics, a negative number represents an opposite. [ 1] In the real number system, a negative number is a number that is less than zero. Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency.
Square roots of negative numbers are called imaginary because in early-modern mathematics, only what are now called real numbers, obtainable by physical measurements or basic arithmetic, were considered to be numbers at all – even negative numbers were treated with skepticism – so the square root of a negative number was previously considered undefined or nonsensical.
Negative refraction. Negative refraction is the electromagnetic phenomenon where light rays become refracted at an interface that is opposite to their more commonly observed positive refractive properties. Negative refraction can be obtained by using a metamaterial which has been designed to achieve a negative value for (electric) permittivity ...
For example, the square root of 2 is an irrational number, but it is not a transcendental number as it is a root of the polynomial equation x 2 − 2 = 0. The golden ratio (denoted or ) is another irrational number that is not transcendental, as it is a root of the polynomial equation x 2 − x − 1 = 0.
The square root of 3 is the positive real number that, when multiplied by itself, gives the number 3. It is denoted mathematically as 3 {\textstyle {\sqrt {3}}} or 3 1 / 2 {\displaystyle 3^{1/2}} . It is more precisely called the principal square root of 3 to distinguish it from the negative number with the same property.