Mathematica is great for manipulating algebraic expressions.
You can use
functions like `Simplify`, `Expand`, `Factor`, `Collect`, and `Together` to
perform various operations.
1. **Simplify[]**: Simplifies algebraic expressions by applying various
mathematical transformations.
Sure, here are a couple of simple examples of using the `Simplify` function in
Mathematica:
Simplify Algebraic Expressions:
Simplify[(x^2 + 2x + 1)/(x + 1)]
2. Expand[]: Expands algebraic expressions by multiplying out terms.
The Expand function in Mathematica is used to expand out expressions
containing algebraic terms, trigonometric functions, and other mathematical
operations.
Expand[(x + 2)^3]
Output: ( x^3 + 6 x^2 + 12 x + 8 )
3. Factor[]: Factors algebraic expressions into simpler forms.
The `Factor` function in Mathematica is used to factorize algebraic
expressions. Here are a few examples
1. Basic Factorization:
Factor[x^2 - 4]
Output: (x - 2) (x + 2)
2. Factoring Polynomials:
Factor[x^3 - 8]
Output: (x - 2) (x^2 + 2 x + 4)
3. Factoring Quadratic Expressions:
Factor[x^2 + 6 x + 9]
Output: `(x + 3)^2`
4. Factoring with Assumptions:
Factor[x^2 - a^2, Assumptions -> {Element[a, Reals]}]
Output: `(x - a) (x + a)`
3. Collect[]: Collects like terms in an expression.
The Collect function in Mathematica is used to collect together terms in an
expression that have the same power of a given variable.
Basic Usage:
Collect[a x^2 + b x^2 + c x, x]
Output: (a + b) x^2 + c x
Collecting Powers of x:
Collect[a x^2 + b x^3 + c x^2, x]
Output: a x^2 + (b x^3 + c x^2)
4. Apart[]: Decomposes rational functions into partial fraction form. In
Mathematica, the `Apart` function is used to decompose a rational
function into partial fraction form.
Basic Usage:
Apart[(x^2 + 3x + 2)/(x + 1)]
This will output: (1 + x) + 1/(1 + x)
5. Together[]: Combines fractions into a single rational expression.
The Together function in Mathematica is used to combine fractions in an
expression into a single fraction. Here are a few examples:
Basic Usage:
Together[a/b + c/d]
This will output (a d + b c)/(b d).
Complex Expression:
Together[(x^2 + 3x + 2)/(x^2 + 2x)]
This will output (2 + 3/x + x)/(2 + x).
6. Coefficient[]: Extracts the coefficient of a specified term in an
expression. In Mathematica, the `Coefficient` function allows you to
extract the coefficient of a specified term in a polynomial expression.
Here's an example:
poly = 3 x^3 + 2 x^2 - 5 x + 7;
Coefficient[poly, x^2]
This will return `2`, as it extracts the coefficient of the term `x^2` from
the polynomial poly.
8. CoefficientList[]: Generates a list of coefficients of all terms in an
expression.
In Mathematica, the CoefficientList function is used to extract the coefficients
of a polynomial or a series. Here are a few examples:
Extract coefficients of a polynomial:
poly = 2 x^3 - 3 x^2 + 5 x - 7;
CoefficientList[poly, x]
Output: {2, -3, 5, -7}
Extract coefficients of a series:
series = Series[Sin[x], {x, 0, 5}];
CoefficientList[series, x]
Output: {0, 1, 0, -(1/6), 0, 1/120}
