Y = mx+b
why not Y=ax+r or something?'
why those letters? is it because all the other letters are already used in other formula? '.
don't answer if you don't know.thankss =)
2007-01-17 09:48:13 · 4 answers · asked by lala.fxckuhunnie 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
People don't know. I did some research but all I can find are links of other people saying they don't know. One person was advised to check their local library for the History of mathematics and go through it. The common belief is it was an arbitrary choice.
2007-01-17 10:00:54 · answer #1 · answered by Chaney34 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, it's probably because all the other letters were used in the alphabet.
I mean r stands for radius, and d is diameter, and a is area, and k is a constant (why?).
I think it was the obivious choice to pick "m" for the slope since it starts with an s :)
2007-01-17 10:18:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
why not?
Some mathematician came up with the formula, probably deriving it from another (sorry, dont know which), and therefore used those letters.
You can use other letters... just know that you might be confusing yourself!!!
2007-01-17 10:03:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
m represents the slope and b is the y-intercept in the slope-intercept form
2007-01-17 10:08:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋