Please help!!!
I have a equation which I would like to solve for y
Equation is:
y + x = y^a
Solve for y i.e.
y = ? (in terms of x and a)
Thanks,
Hi, unfortunately, no. There is no one answer.
To break down the problem, look at what happens for integer values of a.
If a = 0 , then y = 1 - x .
If a = 1 , then the equation is true only for x = 0 , thus true for all y ; y = y...
If a = 2 , then y = [1 (+/-) sqrt((-1)^2 - 4 * (1) * x)] / 2
which is simply the solution to y^2 - y - x = 0 .
If a = 3 , a = 4 , there are formulas for finding the roots of cubic and quartic functions, long and tedious formulas in some instances, yet doable.
Once a > 4 , there are still solutions, but you would be solving y^5 - y - x = 0 and so on.
I hope this helps.
