abs
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Absolute value
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Computes the absolute value of its argument. This is equivalent to using absolute value bars, so abs(3–7) = |3 – 7|=4.
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ceiling
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ceiling(opposite of "floor")
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Returns the closest integer greater than or equal to its argument, so ceiling(7.3) returns 8.
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combinations
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combinations(n, k)
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Returns the number of combinations of n things taken k at a time, so combinations(5,2) is 10.
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exp
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Exponential function ("e to the...")
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Raises e, the base of the natural logarithms, to a power. So, exp(2) is about 7.34, and exp(1) is e, which is 2.718....
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floor
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Sometimes written using , where x is the number whose floor you want
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Returns the closest integer less than or equal to its argument, so floor(3.98) is 3, and floor(–3.98) is –4.
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ln
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Natural logarithm
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Returns the number, which, used as the power of e, gives the argument. For example, ln(12) is about 2.485 because e2.485 is about 12.
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log
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Common logarithm
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Returns the number, which, used as the power of 10 gives the argument. For example, log(1000) is 3 because 103 is 1000.
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logRelativeError
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Returns, roughly, the number of digits in agreement between the two arguments
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logRelativeError(expected, actual) is defined as –log(|actual–expected|/expected). With the arguments 1.0 and 1.01, the result is 2 because there are two digits in common.
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modulo
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Often written as "mod" as in 7 mod 3 = 1
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Returns the modulus, the remainder after one number is divided by another, so modulo(11, 4) is 3. The numbers need not be integers: modulo(12.1,1.5) is 0.1.
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round
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Rounds to the nearest integer
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This function has an optional, second argument that specifies how many decimals to round to: round(3.14) is 3, round(π, 4) is 3.1416, and round(1234, –2) is 1200.
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scalar
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Takes a quantity (number with units) and returns just the number
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Use this when you need to get rid of the units: scalar(7s) is 7. Be aware that changing units of an attribute will affect the value that scalar returns.
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sgn
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Signum function
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Returns +1 for arguments greater than 0, –1 for arguments less than 0, and 0 for arguments equal to 0.
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sqrt
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Square root function
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Gives the square root of a number, so sqrt(4) returns 2, and sqrt(9m^2) returns 3 m.
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trunc
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Truncation function
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Returns the integer part of the argument, so trunc(3.1415) returns 3, and trunc(–1.234) returns –1.
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unitOf
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Returns a quantity with the numeric value of 1 and the units of its argument
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Examples: unitOf(8years) returns 1 year, and unitOf(3m/s*2s) returns 1 m.
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