Can't remember how to solve equation with two variables

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    Polynomial Variables
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around solving an equation with two variables, specifically focusing on the equation 3R^2 + A*R - y*B - C*y^2 = 0. Participants explore methods to express one variable in terms of another, including the use of the quadratic formula and simultaneous equations. The conversation also touches on related mathematical concepts and some linguistic clarifications.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant recalls using a triangle related to polynomial factorization but struggles to remember the correct terminology.
  • Another participant asserts that a single equation with two variables cannot be solved without a second equation, suggesting moving terms to isolate the variable of interest.
  • Some participants discuss the possibility of using the quadratic formula to express R in terms of y, while noting that the relationship does not imply proportionality.
  • There is a suggestion that the equation can be rearranged to facilitate solving for R or y, but the relationship between R and y is clarified as not being proportional.
  • Several posts include clarifications about the spelling and linguistic origins of the term "Fibonacci," leading to a side discussion about the relationship between Italian and Latin.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the equation cannot be solved for one variable without additional equations, and that R and y are not proportional in the given equation. However, there is some uncertainty regarding the best approach to take in solving the equation.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the implications of the equation and the methods to solve it, indicating that assumptions about proportionality and the use of simultaneous equations are not settled.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in mathematical problem-solving, particularly in the context of equations with multiple variables, may find this discussion relevant.

tim9000
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Umm from memory I used to use...that triangle:
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
Fibonachii was it? Pathetic I can't even remember the name.
To factorise...or was it expand...polynomials...anyway, I don't think that's elevant here.
My question is; I had an equation and it boild down to:
3R^2 + A*R - y*B - C*y^2 = 0

where A, B and C are constants.

Did I have to do completing the squares or some factorisation to find how R is proportional to y?

Thanks
 
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You cannot solve a single equation with two variables, you have to have two equations but to get how one variable relates to the other, just move everything but the variable of interest to the other side of the equation by doing the appropriate add, subtract, multiply, divide.

For example, if you had Ax + By = 0, and you wanted to know how y was related to x, you would subtract off By then divide by A and get

Ax = -By

x = -(B/A)y
 
phinds said:
You cannot solve a single equation with two variables, you have to have two equations but to get how one variable relates to the other, just move everything but the variable of interest to the other side of the equation by doing the appropriate add, subtract, multiply, divide.

For example, if you had Ax + By = 0, and you wanted to know how y was related to x, you would subtract off By then divide by A and get

Ax = -By

x = -(B/A)y
That wouldn't work in this case, the best I could do would be

3R^2 + A*R = y*B + C*y^2

isn't it?

Ah, ok, so bottom line, I need to use simultanious eqations?

Thanks
 
tim9000 said:
That wouldn't work in this case, the best I could do would be

3R^2 + A*R = y*B + C*y^2

isn't it?
You could solve the equation above for R in terms of y, by using the Quadratic Formula. Start by moving all terms to the left side.
##3R^2 + AR - yB - Cy^2 = 0##

In the Quadratic Formula, a = 3R2, b = A, and c = -yB - Cy2.

In post #1 you said you were trying to show that R is proportional to y -- that's not the case in the equation above. If two variables are proportional, then either one is some constant multiple of the other.

tim9000 said:
Ah, ok, so bottom line, I need to use simultanious eqations?

Thanks
 
Ah. I missed the y^2. Just use the quadratic equation, as Mark suggested.
 
tim9000 said:
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
Fibonachii was it?
Pascal.
 
tim9000 said:
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
Fibonachii was it?
Svein said:
Pascal.
And for the record, Fibonacci is the correct spelling, not Fibonachii. In Italian, 'c' followed immediately by 'i' or 'e' has the ch sound. If followed by 'a', 'o', or 'u', it has the k sound.
 
Mark44 said:
And for the record, Fibonacci is the correct spelling, not Fibonachii. In Italian, 'c' followed immediately by 'i' or 'e' has the ch sound. If followed by 'a', 'o', or 'u', it has the k sound.
Aha, thanks for the tip, I'm not great with English, let alone Latin.
 
Svein said:
Pascal.
AAH yep, that's it.
 
  • #10
Mark44 said:
You could solve the equation above for R in terms of y, by using the Quadratic Formula. Start by moving all terms to the left side.
##3R^2 + AR - yB - Cy^2 = 0##

In the Quadratic Formula, a = 3R2, b = A, and c = -yB - Cy2.

In post #1 you said you were trying to show that R is proportional to y -- that's not the case in the equation above. If two variables are proportional, then either one is some constant multiple of the other.
That would be helpful to solve for R or y using the quadratic formula.
So are you saying this relation regardless of anything, will never be proportional, and the best I can do is solving for something like this:

R = √((12(yB+Cy^2)/36)
or
R = - √((2A^2 + 12(yB+Cy^2)/36)

?
Thanks
 
  • #11
  • #12
SteamKing said:
Fibonacci is not Latin, it's Italian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci
Isn't Italian just modern Latin?

Would it have been ok if I had of said
'I'm not great with English, let alone Latin derivatives'? :wink:
 
  • #13
tim9000 said:
Isn't Italian just modern Latin?

No, not really. If that were true, you could say the same about French or Spanish or Portuguese, all of which derive from Latin like Italian, but are distinct from it in their own separate ways. This group of languages is called the Romance Languages, because they each derive from the language of the Romans (Latin).
 
  • #14
SteamKing said:
No, not really. If that were true, you could say the same about French or Spanish or Portuguese, all of which derive from Latin like Italian, but are distinct from it in their own separate ways. This group of languages is called the Romance Languages, because they each derive from the language of the Romans (Latin).
Ah I have heard that term actually. I wonder when at what point each started to diverge into what you'd distinguish as a separate entity, ah well I don't want to get too far off topic. (though I doubt there are near as many things taken from Latin verbally, discounting nouns, in French, as there would be in Italian, or even Spanish)
 
  • #15
tim9000 said:
That would be helpful to solve for R or y using the quadratic formula.
So are you saying this relation regardless of anything, will never be proportional, and the best I can do is solving for something like this:

R = √((12(yB+Cy^2)/36)
or
R = - √((2A^2 + 12(yB+Cy^2)/36)

?
Thanks
Yes, that's what I'm saying. In the equation you posted, R and y are not proportional.
 
  • #16
Mark44 said:
Yes, that's what I'm saying. In the equation you posted, R and y are not proportional.
Ok, I'll see if I can come up with another equation to solve it simultaniously.
Thank you
 
  • #17
tim9000 said:
Ah I have heard that term actually. I wonder when at what point each started to diverge into what you'd distinguish as a separate entity, ah well I don't want to get too far off topic. (though I doubt there are near as many things taken from Latin verbally, discounting nouns, in French, as there would be in Italian, or even Spanish)
I would guess that French has about as many words that are recognizably of Latin origin as Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese. Although Spanish and Italian share words that are identical or close (casa means house in Italian and Spanish, but the s is pronounced differently; cortar (Sp.) and cortare (It.) -- to cut), there are many words that are very different, due to the influence on Spanish by the Moors for 700 years.
 

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