A linear equation is an algebraic equation in which each term is either a constant or the product of a constant and (the first power of) a single variable.
Linear equations can have one or more variables. Linear equations occur with great regularity in applied mathematics. While they arise quite naturally when modeling many phenomena, they are particularly useful since many non-linear equations may be reduced to linear equations by assuming that quantities of interest vary to only a small extent from some "background" state. Linear equations do not include exponents.
Read more about Linear Equation: Linear Equations in Two Variables, Linear Equations in More Than Two Variables
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)