Why n and what does it mean? Maybe a bit too early to ask, but I give it a shot. I'm trying to study mathematics again during my free time. Now I tried to figure out what exactly is meant with the multiple. Well this formula makes it quite easy to understand for me, but it's not totally clear yet: a = n xx b So if I understand the formula correctly, for 15 = 3 * 5 15 is a multiple of 5, and for 15 = 5 * 3 15 is a multiple of 3, so 3 and 5 can both be a multiple of 15. But what I don't understand, why n? Why not just a = b xx c? I cannot really find an answer for this either, in my study book they just start with formulas like: a^n xx a^m = a^(n+m) without any further explanation why to use n or m. Hopefully somebody has an explanation for me
aamcastello1BN
Answered question
2022-12-01
Why n and what does it mean? Maybe a bit too early to ask, but I give it a shot. I'm trying to study mathematics again during my free time. Now I tried to figure out what exactly is meant with the multiple. Well this formula makes it quite easy to understand for me, but it's not totally clear yet:
So if I understand the formula correctly, for 15 is a multiple of 5, and for 15 is a multiple of 3, so 3 and 5 can both be a multiple of 15. But what I don't understand, why n? Why not just ? I cannot really find an answer for this either, in my study book they just start with formulas like:
without any further explanation why to use n or m. Hopefully somebody has an explanation for me
Answer & Explanation
ft4ine1pO
Beginner2022-12-02Added 6 answers
The author probably wanted to stress that he was talking about integer multiples of . is commonly used to denote natural numbers. Of course, and are also naturals here, but the formula could also work with rational or real. It is also pretty common to work with letters in the same alphabetic range to denote a similar role/type. For instance, a polynomial will have coefficients . For the same reason, often denote integers (indexes or counts). often denote unknowns or variables.
Urijah Zhang
Beginner2022-12-03Added 2 answers
Why not? Any letter or symbols work. You could have emoticons such that
If it suits, the usage of letters is due to their ease of writing. This comes from the intense repitition of them through the years. So which letter you pick does not matter, why n? The author felt like it?