Irrational numberIn mathematics, the irrational numbers (from in- prefix assimilated to ir- (negative prefix, privative) + rational) are all the real numbers that are not rational numbers. That is, irrational numbers cannot be expressed as the ratio of two integers. When the ratio of lengths of two line segments is an irrational number, the line segments are also described as being incommensurable, meaning that they share no "measure" in common, that is, there is no length ("the measure"), no matter how short, that could be used to express the lengths of both of the two given segments as integer multiples of itself.
Quadratic irrational numberIn mathematics, a quadratic irrational number (also known as a quadratic irrational or quadratic surd) is an irrational number that is the solution to some quadratic equation with rational coefficients which is irreducible over the rational numbers. Since fractions in the coefficients of a quadratic equation can be cleared by multiplying both sides by their least common denominator, a quadratic irrational is an irrational root of some quadratic equation with integer coefficients.
Quadratic equationIn algebra, a quadratic equation () is any equation that can be rearranged in standard form as where x represents an unknown value, and a, b, and c represent known numbers, where a ≠ 0. (If a = 0 and b ≠ 0 then the equation is linear, not quadratic.) The numbers a, b, and c are the coefficients of the equation and may be distinguished by respectively calling them, the quadratic coefficient, the linear coefficient and the constant coefficient or free term.
Proof that π is irrationalIn the 1760s, Johann Heinrich Lambert was the first to prove that the number pi is irrational, meaning it cannot be expressed as a fraction , where and are both integers. In the 19th century, Charles Hermite found a proof that requires no prerequisite knowledge beyond basic calculus. Three simplifications of Hermite's proof are due to Mary Cartwright, Ivan Niven, and Nicolas Bourbaki. Another proof, which is a simplification of Lambert's proof, is due to Miklós Laczkovich. Many of these are proofs by contradiction.
Cubic equationIn algebra, a cubic equation in one variable is an equation of the form in which a is nonzero. The solutions of this equation are called roots of the cubic function defined by the left-hand side of the equation. If all of the coefficients a, b, c, and d of the cubic equation are real numbers, then it has at least one real root (this is true for all odd-degree polynomial functions). All of the roots of the cubic equation can be found by the following means: algebraically: more precisely, they can be expressed by a cubic formula involving the four coefficients, the four basic arithmetic operations, square roots and cube roots.
Show more