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In 1748, Leonhard Euler introduced variable exponents, and, implicitly, non-integer exponents by writing: Consider exponentials or powers in which the exponent itself is a variable. It is clear that quantities of this kind are not algebraic functions, since in those the exponents must be constant. [18]
In mathematics, like terms are summands in a sum that differ only by a numerical factor. [1] Like terms can be regrouped by adding their coefficients. Typically, in a polynomial expression, like terms are those that contain the same variables to the same powers, possibly with different coefficients.
In mathematics, an algebraic expression is an expression built up from constants (usually, algebraic numbers) variables, and the basic algebraic operations: addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (×), division (÷), whole number powers, and roots (fractional powers).
Each variable can be raised to a positive-integer power. A monomial is a polynomial with one term while two- and three-term polynomials are called binomials and trinomials. The degree of a polynomial is the maximal value (among its terms) of the sum of the exponents of the variables (4 in the above example). [32]
The definition of exponentiation can also be given by transfinite recursion on the exponent β. When the exponent β = 0, ordinary exponentiation gives α 0 = 1 for any α. For β > 0, the value of α β is the smallest ordinal greater than or equal to α δ · α for all δ < β. Writing the successor and limit ordinals cases separately: α 0 = 1.
For a given combination of values for the free variables, an expression may be evaluated, although for some combinations of values of the free variables, the value of the expression may be undefined. Thus an expression represents an operation over constants and free variables and whose output is the resulting value of the expression. [22]
The word polynomial joins two diverse roots: the Greek poly, meaning "many", and the Latin nomen, or "name". It was derived from the term binomial by replacing the Latin root bi-with the Greek poly-. That is, it means a sum of many terms (many monomials). The word polynomial was first used in the 17th century. [6]
In mathematics and statistics, sums of powers occur in a number of contexts: . Sums of squares arise in many contexts. For example, in geometry, the Pythagorean theorem involves the sum of two squares; in number theory, there are Legendre's three-square theorem and Jacobi's four-square theorem; and in statistics, the analysis of variance involves summing the squares of quantities.