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What's the Constant of Variation?

Note:

The constant of variation is the number that relates two variables that are directly proportional or inversely proportional to one another. But why is it called the constant of variation? This tutorial answers that question, so take a look!

Keywords:

  • definition
  • constant of variation
  • constant
  • variation
  • proportionality
  • constant of proportionality

Background Tutorials

  • Introduction to Algebraic Expressions

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        What is a Constant?

      What is a Constant?

      Constants are parts of algebraic expressions that don't change. Check out this tutorial to see exactly what a constant looks like and why it doesn't change.

  • Direct Variation Definitions

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        What's the Direct Variation or Direct Proportionality Formula?

      What's the Direct Variation or Direct Proportionality Formula?

      Ever heard of two things being directly proportional? Well, a good example is speed and distance. The bigger your speed, the farther you'll go over a given time period. So as one variable goes up, the other goes up too, and that's the idea of direct proportionality. But you can express direct proportionality using equations, and that's an important thing to do in algebra. See how to do that in the tutorial!

  • Working with Inverse Variation

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        What's the Inverse Variation or Indirect Proportionality Formula?

      What's the Inverse Variation or Indirect Proportionality Formula?

      Ever heard of two things being inversely proportional? Well, a good example is speed and time. The bigger your speed, the less time it takes to get to where you are going. So when one variable is big, the other is small, and that's the idea of inverse proportionality. But you can express inverse proportionality using equations, and that's an important thing to do in algebra. See how to do that in the tutorial!

Further Exploration

  • Dividing Real Numbers

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        What are Multiplicative Inverses?

      What are Multiplicative Inverses?

      Multiplicative inverses. That's a mouthful! Really, this term just refers to numbers that when multiplied together equal 1. These numbers are also called reciprocals of each other! Learn about multiplicative inverses by watching this tutorial.

  • Working with Inverse Variation

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        How Do You Use the Formula for Inverse Variation?

      How Do You Use the Formula for Inverse Variation?

      If two things are inversely proportional, you can bet that you'll need to use the formula for inverse variation to solve! In this tutorial, you'll see how to use the formula for inverse variation to find the constant of inverse variation and then solve for your answer.