The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The term variable is developed very early in introductory algebra coursework. It is defined as a letter or symbol that can be replaced by any number or expression. Examples of variables would be as follows: x, t, d, y, *, or z. The most commonly used variable in algebra is x. If a person earns $8.00 for every hour worked and s/he works 5 hours, the person would earn $8 x 5 = $40. If the person works for n hours, that person would earn $8 x n or $8n.
In the application of functions, variables are used to represent the relationship between two things. The independent variable is referred to as x and the dependent variable is referred to as y. It is common to write functions in terms of the independent variable.
In probability work, a random variable is a numeric quantity that can be measured in a random experiment. It is a function of the possible outcomes of an experiment. If a baseball player is up at bat ten times, the random variable can be assigned to either hits or misses. If x represented the number of hits, the outcomes would be 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0.