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Division by zero. The reciprocal function y = 1 x. As x approaches zero from the right, y tends to positive infinity. As x approaches zero from the left, y tends to negative infinity. In mathematics, division by zero, division where the divisor (denominator) is zero, is a unique and problematic special case.
A simple fraction (also known as a common fraction or vulgar fraction, where vulgar is Latin for "common") is a rational number written as a / b or , where a and b are both integers. [9] As with other fractions, the denominator ( b) cannot be zero. Examples include 1 2 , − 8 5 , −8 5 , and 8 −5 .
The history of mathematical notation [1] includes the commencement, progress, and cultural diffusion of mathematical symbols and the conflict of the methods of notation confronted in a notation's move to popularity or inconspicuousness. Mathematical notation [2] comprises the symbols used to write mathematical equations and formulas.
In the 3rd century BCE, Archimedes proved the sharp inequalities 223 ⁄ 71 < π < 22 ⁄ 7, by means of regular 96-gons (accuracies of 2·10 −4 and 4·10 −4, respectively). [ 15 ] In the 2nd century CE, Ptolemy used the value 377 ⁄ 120 , the first known approximation accurate to three decimal places (accuracy 2·10 −5 ). [ 16 ]
Problems 7–20 show how to multiply the expressions 1 + 1/2 + 1/4 = 7/4, and 1 + 2/3 + 1/3 = 2 by different fractions. Problems 21–23 are problems in completion, which in modern notation are simply subtraction problems.
Definition and divergence. The harmonic series is the infinite series in which the terms are all of the positive unit fractions. It is a divergent series: as more terms of the series are included in partial sums of the series, the values of these partial sums grow arbitrarily large, beyond any finite limit.
The reciprocal function, the function f(x) that maps x to 1/x, is one of the simplest examples of a function which is its own inverse (an involution). Multiplying by a number is the same as dividing by its reciprocal and vice versa. For example, multiplication by 4/5 (or 0.8) will give the same result as division by 5/4 (or 1.25).
It is known that ζ(3) is irrational (Apéry's theorem) and that infinitely many of the numbers ζ(2n + 1) : n ∈ , are irrational. [1] There are also results on the irrationality of values of the Riemann zeta function at the elements of certain subsets of the positive odd integers; for example, at least one of ζ (5), ζ (7), ζ (9), or ζ ...