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Discriminant

A discriminant is a quantity (usually invariant under certain classes of transformations) which characterizes certain properties of a quantity's Roots. The concept of the discriminant is used for Binary Quadratic Forms, Elliptic Curves, Metrics, Modules, Polynomials, Quadratic Curves, Quadratic Fields, Quadratic Forms, and in the Second Derivative Test.




© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-24