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I recently came across the term "unique algebraic combination" and wasn't sure what this meant.

For example, for two numbers $a$ and $b$ what are their "unique algebraic combinations"? Would it be something like

  1. $a + b$
  2. $a - b$
  3. $a * b$
  4. $a / b$
nathanesau
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    It surely needs to be defined by the author. What you've outlined (allowing for recursive application of those operations, supplemented perhaps by constants) I would call "rational combinations" or rational functions of $a,b$. The choice of "algebraic" rather than "rational" suggests to me that division (your fourth operation) might not be part of the framework. Surely the context would help to clear it up, but this leaves uncertainty about the "unique" attribute being imputed to these combinations (expressions). – hardmath Apr 11 '16 at 14:50

1 Answers1

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This is not a standard term in mathematics. I would advise you search your book to see if it isn't defined earlier.

Stella Biderman
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