An indeterminate equation, in mathematics, is an equation for which there is more than one solution; for example, 2x = y is a simple indeterminate equation. Indeterminate equations cannot be solved uniquely. For example, the equations
where a, b, c, and P are given integers (provided that P is not a square number), are indeterminate equations. Equations of the second form are named Pell's equations.
Famous quotes containing the word equation:
“Jail sentences have many functions, but one is surely to send a message about what our society abhors and what it values. This week, the equation was twofold: female infidelity twice as bad as male abuse, the life of a woman half as valuable as that of a man. The killing of the woman taken in adultery has a long history and survives today in many cultures. One of those is our own.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)