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Concept
Quotient
Summary
In arithmetic, a quotient (from quotiens 'how many times', pronounced ˈkwoʊʃənt) is a quantity produced by the division of two numbers. The quotient has widespread use throughout mathematics. It has two definitions: either the integer part of a division (in the case of Euclidean division), or as a fraction or a ratio (in the case of a general division). For example, when dividing 20 (the dividend) by 3 (the divisor), the quotient is 6 (with a remainder of 2) in the first sense, and (a repeating decimal) in the second sense.
Ratios can be defined as dimensionless quotients;
non-dimensionless quotients are also known as rates.
Division (mathematics)#Notation
The quotient is most frequently encountered as two numbers, or two variables, divided by a horizontal line. The words "dividend" and "divisor" refer to each individual part, while the word "quotient" refers to the whole.
The quotient is also less commonly defined as the greatest whole number of times a divisor may be subtracted from a dividend—before making the remainder negative. For example, the divisor 3 may be subtracted up to 6 times from the dividend 20, before the remainder becomes negative:
20 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 ≥ 0,
while
20 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 − 3 < 0.
In this sense, a quotient is the integer part of the ratio of two numbers.
Rational number
A rational number can be defined as the quotient of two integers (as long as the denominator is non-zero).
A more detailed definition goes as follows:
A real number r is rational, if and only if it can be expressed as a quotient of two integers with a nonzero denominator. A real number that is not rational is irrational.
Or more formally:
Given a real number r, r is rational if and only if there exists integers a and b such that and .
The existence of irrational numbers—numbers that are not a quotient of two integers—was first discovered in geometry, in such things as the ratio of the diagonal to the side in a square.
Outside of arithmetic, many branches of mathematics have borrowed the word "quotient" to describe structures built by breaking larger structures into pieces.
Official source
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