Standard arithmetic operators for real numbers

7.3.2 Standard arithmetic operators for real numbers

The +, -, *, /, and ^ operators are the usual infixed operators to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and raising to a power.

Examples

3+2

3-2

3*2

3/2

3.2/2.1

1.52380952381

3^2

3.2^2.1

11.5031015682

Remark.

Use the square key or the cube key if your keyboard has one; for example, 3² returns 9.

Remarks on non integral powers.

If x is not an integer, then a^x=e^xln(a), hence if x is not rational, then a^x is well-defined only for a>0. If x is rational and a<0, the principal branch of the logarithm is used, leading to a complex number. Note the difference between (a)^1/n and a^1/n when n is an odd integer.

Example

To draw the graph of y=∛x³−x², input:

plotfunc(ifte(x>0,(x^3-x^2)^(1/3),-(x^2-x^3)^(1/3)),x,xstep=0.01)

You might also input:

plotimplicit(y^3=x^3-x^2)

but this is much slower and much less accurate.