Introduction

Introduction to Variation

In Mathematics, we work with two main kinds of things: things that stay the same and things that change.

If the value of a quantity remains the same and does not change no matter what happens, we call it a constant.

Constant

If the value of a quantity remains unaltered under different situations, it is called a constant.

This means a constant is like a fixed number that never moves or changes.

On the other hand, if the value of a thing can change depending on the situation, we call it a variable.

Variable

If the value of a quantity changes under different situations, it is called a variable.

This means a variable is a value that can go up or down.

In a Math equation, these two things work together to show how they relate to each other.

The constant stays the same even when other things are moving, while the variable changes to fit the situation.

When these variables start changing, we call that process variation.

Variation

The changing of variable parameters is known as variation.

This means variation is just a big word for how one thing changes when another thing changes.

We can explain this using a simple equation y = mx, where m is our constant.

Let us say the value of m is 5. Our equation now looks like this: y = 5x.

Let us use an example. Imagine x is the number of letters in the word SIMBIBOT.

How many letters are in SIMBIBOT? Let us count them: S-I-M-B-I-B-O-T. They are 8.

So, we can say x = 8.

Now, let us find y. Since y = 5x, then y = 5 multiplied by 8, which gives us 40.

You will notice that if we change the value of x, the value of y will also change.

This is the variation of y because of the different values of x. In the same way, if y changes, x will also change.

Variation problems usually involve simple equations that show how one or two variables affect each other, even though they can sometimes be more than two.