The word for the punctuation mark, on the other hand, comes from Îºá¿¶Î»Î¿Î½ (or kÅlon), which means âlimbâ or âclauseâ â and it is used because one of the main functions of the colon is to separate two clauses, where the second clause explains or follows from the first.
The goal in solving an equation is to get the variable by itself on one side of the equation and a number on the other side of the equation. To isolate the variable, we must reverse the operations acting on the variable. We do this by performing the inverse of each operation on both sides of the equation.
2. (Science: botany) Inverted; having a position or mode of attachment the reverse of that which is usual. 3. (Science: mathematics) opposite in nature and effect; said with reference to any two operations, which, when both are performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that quantity; as, multiplication is the inverse operation to division. The symbol of an inverse operation is the symbol of the direct operation with -1 as an index. Thus sin-1 x means the arc whose sine is x. (Science: geometry) inverse figures, two points lying on a line drawn from the center of a fixed circle or sphere, and so related that the product of their distances from the center of the circle or sphere is equal to the square of the radius.