quotient
(noun)
The result of dividing one quantity by another.
(noun)
The number resulting from the division of one number or expression by another.
Examples of quotient in the following topics:
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Reaction Quotients
- The reaction quotient is a measure of the relative amounts of reactants and products during a chemical reaction at a given point in time.
- The reaction quotient, Q, is a measure of the relative amounts of reactants and products during a chemical reaction at a given point in time.
- Just as for the equilibrium constant, the reaction quotient can be a function of activities or concentrations.
- Three properties can be derived from this definition of the reaction quotient:
- Calculate the reaction quotient, Q, and use it to predict whether a reaction will proceed in the forward or reverse direction
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Difference Quotients
- The difference quotient is used in algebra to calculate the average slope between two points but has broader effects in calculus.
- It is also known as Newton's quotient:
- The difference quotient is the average slope of a function between two points.
- In this case, the difference quotient is know as a derivative, a useful tool in calculus.
- Relate the difference quotient in algebra to the derivative in calculus
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Dividing Polynomials
- For example, find the quotient and the remainder of the division of $x^3 - 12x^2 -42$, the dividend, by $x-3$, the divisor.
- Multiply the divisor by the result just obtained (the first term of the eventual quotient): $x^2 \cdot (x − 3) = x^3 − 3x^2$.
- For example, find the quotient and the remainder of the division of $x^3 - 12x^2 -42$, the dividend, by $x-3$, the divisor.
- Multiply the divisor by the result just obtained (the first term of the eventual quotient): $x^2 \cdot (x − 3) = x^3 − 3x^2$.
- The calculated polynomial is the quotient, and the number left over (−123) is the remainder:
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Logarithms of Quotients
- By applying the product, power, and quotient rules, you could write this expression as:
- Relate the quotient rule for logarithms to the rules for operating with exponents, and use this rule to rewrite logarithms of quotients
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Predicting the Direction of a Reaction
- Equilibrium constants and reaction quotients can be used to predict whether a reaction will favor the products or the reactants.
- If a reaction is not at equilibrium, you can use the reaction quotient, Q, to see where the reaction is in the pathway:
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Strategy for General Problem Solving
- If the units are ignored, the quotients do not numerically equal 1, but 1/12 or 12.
- Since the two quotients are equal to 1, multiplying or dividing by the quotients is the same as multiplying or dividing by 1.
- You can also use these quotients to convert from inches to feet or from feet to inches.
- If there is confusion regarding which quotient to use in the conversion, just make sure the units cancel out correctly.
- The units behave just like numbers in products and quotients—they can be multiplied and divided.
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The Derivative and Tangent Line Problem
- The slope of the secant line passing through $p$ and $q$ is equal to the difference quotient
- As the point $q$ approaches $p$, which corresponds to making $h$ smaller and smaller, the difference quotient should approach a certain limiting value $k$, which is the slope of the tangent line at the point $p$.
- Then there is a unique value of $k$ such that, as $h$approaches $0$, the difference quotient gets closer and closer to $k$, and the distance between them becomes negligible compared with the size of $h$, if $h$ is small enough.
- This leads to the definition of the slope of the tangent line to the graph as the limit of the difference quotients for the function $f$.
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The Remainder Theorem and Synthetic Division
- Synthetic division is a technique for dividing a polynomial and finding the quotient and remainder.
- This gives the quotient $x^2-9x-27$ and the remainder $-123$.
- So the quotient must be the second degree polynomial $x^2 - 9x - 27$.
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History of Intelligence Testing
- The abbreviation "IQ" comes from the term intelligence quotient, first coined by the German psychologist William Stern in the early 1900s (from the German Intelligenz-Quotient).
- He proposed that an individual's intelligence level be measured as a quotient (hence the term "intelligence quotient") of their estimated mental age divided by their chronological age.
- The original formula for the quotient was Mental Age/Chronological Age x 100.
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Division and Factors
- So given two polynomials $D(x)$ (the dividend) and $d(x)$ (the divisor), we are looking for two polynomials $q(x)$ (the quotient) and $r(x)$ (the $remainder)$ such that $D(x) = d(x)q(x) + r(x)$ and the degree of $r(x)$ is strictly smaller than the degree of $d(x).$
- Conceptually, we want to see how many copies of $d(x)$ are contained in $D(x)$ (this is the quotient) and then how far $D(x)$ is away from being a multiple of $d(x)$ (this is the remainder).
- Again looking at the highest degree terms, we see that $4x^2 = 2x\cdot2x$, so we write down $2x$ as the second term in the quotient and proceed as before:
- We see that the quotient $q(x)$ $3x^2+2x+6$ and the remainder $r(x)$ is $22$, so
- (Of course, the quotient will also be a factor.)