Coefficient (redirected from biological coefficient)

coefficient

1. Maths

a. a numerical or constant factor in an algebraic term

b. the product of all the factors of a term excluding one or more specified variables

2. Physics a value that relates one physical quantity to another

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coefficient [¦kō·ə′fish·ənt]

(mathematics)

A factor in a product.

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Coefficient 

a numerical factor in a literal expression, a known multiplier of an unknown quantity of any degree, or a constant multiplier of a variable quantity. Thus, in the monomial −¾ a²b³ the coefficient is −¾; in the equation x² + 2px + q = 0 the coefficient of x² is 1 and the coefficient of x is 2p; and in the formula for the circumference of a circle l = 2πr the coefficient is 2π. In the equation for a straight line y = kx + b, the number k, which expresses the tangent of the angle that the line makes with the Ox axis, is known as the slope. Many of the coefficients in formulas expressing physical laws have special names, for example, the coefficient of friction and the coefficient of light absorption.