constant

(noun)

An identifier that is bound to an invariant value.

Related Terms

  • directly proportional
  • y-intercept
  • proportional
  • hyperbola
  • vertex
  • quadratic

Examples of constant in the following topics:

  • Inverse Variation

    • Indirect variation is used to describe the relationship between two variables when their product is constant.
    • Knowing that the relationship between the two variables is constant, we can show that their relationship is:
    • where k is a constant known as the constant of proportionality.
    • Revisiting the example of the decelerating car, let's say it starts at 50 miles per hour and slows at a constant rate.
    • Other constants can be incorporated into the equation for the sake of accuracy, but the overall form will remain the same.
  • Increasing, Decreasing, and Constant Functions

    • Functions can either be constant, increasing as $x$ increases, or decreasing as $x $ increases.
    • A function is a constant function if $f(x)=c$ for all values of $x$ and some constant $c$.  
    • Example 1:  Identify the intervals where the function is increasing, decreasing, or constant.
    • There are no intervals where this curve is constant.
    • Identify whether a function is increasing, decreasing, constant, or none of these
  • Stretching and Shrinking

    • This is accomplished by multiplying either $x$ or $y$ by a constant, respectively.
    • Multiplying the entire function $f(x)$ by a constant greater than one causes all the $y$ values of an equation to increase.
    • where $f(x)$ is some function and $b$ is an arbitrary constant.  
    • Multiplying the independent variable $x$ by a constant greater than one causes all the $x$ values of an equation to increase.
    • where $f(x)$ is some function and $c$ is an arbitrary constant.  
  • The Number e

    • The number $e$ is an important mathematical constant, approximately equal to $2.71828$.
    • The number $e$, sometimes called the natural number or Euler's number, is an important mathematical constant, approximately equal to 2.71828.
    • The number $e$ is very important in mathematics, alongside $0, 1, i, \, \text{and} \, \pi.$ All five of these numbers play important and recurring roles across mathematics, and are the five constants appearing in one formulation of Euler's identity, which (amazingly) states that $e^{i\pi}+1=0.$ Like the constant $\pi$, $e$ is irrational (it cannot be written as a  ratio of integers), and it is transcendental (it is not a root of any non-zero polynomial with rational coefficients).
    • Jacob Bernoulli discovered this constant by asking questions related to the amount of money in an account after a certain number of years, if the interest is compounded $n$ times per year.
  • Direct and Inverse Variation

    • Since we know that the relationship between two values is constant, we can give their relationship with:
    • Knowing that the relationship between the two variables is constant, we can show that their relationship is:
    • where $k$ is a constant known as the constant of proportionality.
    • Thus, an inverse relationship cannot be represented by a line with constant slope.
  • What is a Linear Function?

    • A linear function is an algebraic equation in which each term is either a constant or the product of a constant and (the first power of) a single variable.
    • For example, a common equation, $y=mx+b$, (namely the slope-intercept form, which we will learn more about later) is a linear function because it meets both criteria with $x$ and $y$ as variables and $m$ and $b$ as constants.  
    • In the linear function graphs below, the constant, $m$, determines the slope or gradient of that line, and the constant term, $b$, determines the point at which the line crosses the $y$-axis, otherwise known as the $y$-intercept.
    • Vertical lines have an undefined slope, and cannot be represented in the form $y=mx+b$, but instead as an equation of the form $x=c$ for a constant $c$, because the vertical line intersects a value on the $x$-axis, $c$.  
  • Direct Variation

    • Knowing that the relationship between two variables is constant, we can show their relationship as :
    • where k is a constant known as the constant of proportionality.
  • Arithmetic Sequences

    • An arithmetic sequence is a sequence of numbers in which the difference between the consecutive terms is constant.
    • An arithmetic progression, or arithmetic sequence, is a sequence of numbers such that the difference between the consecutive terms is constant.
  • Matrix Equations

    • Make sure that one side of the equation is only variables and their coefficients, and the other side is just constants.
    • Solving a system of linear equations using the inverse of a matrix requires the definition of two new matrices: $X$ is the matrix representing the variables of the system, and $B$ is the matrix representing the constants.
    • To solve a system of linear equations using an inverse matrix, let $A$ be the coefficient matrix, let $X$ be the variable matrix, and let $B$ be the constant matrix.
  • What is a Quadratic Function?

    • where $a$, $b$, and $c$ are constants and $x$ is the independent variable.  
    • The constants $b$and $c$ can take any finite value, and $a$ can take any finite value other than $0$.
    • When all constants are known, a quadratic equation can be solved as to find a solution of $x$.  
    • With a linear function, each input has an individual, unique output (assuming the output is not a constant).  
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