Equations, constants and variables

Summary

• An equation may, in addition to variables, contain constants , also known as parameters or coefficients , which are assumed to be known.
• Solutions will be expressed in terms of the constants.
• For example, \(2x+a=1\) has the solution \(x=(1-a)/2\) if \(x\) is the variable and \(a\) a constant.
• Usually, the variables are denoted by letters at the end of the alphabet, \(x, y, z, w\) while coefficients are denoted by letters at the beginning, \(a, b, c, d\) .