1. ## TI-92 question

TPH recently posted a problem involving the expression
$\frac{ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d}{ex^3 + fx^2 + gx + h}$

When I type this into my '92 it just sits there being "busy." All of my variables are cleared. Does anyone know what the calculator is trying to do here? It "hangs" for more than five minutes!

Thanks!
-Dan

2. Originally Posted by topsquark
TPH recently posted a problem involving the expression
$\frac{ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d}{ex^3 + fx^2 + gx + h}$

When I type this into my '92 it just sits there being "busy." All of my variables are cleared. Does anyone know what the calculator is trying to do here? It "hangs" for more than five minutes!

Thanks!
-Dan

You do know that the solution is not unique don't you. Try making either the numerator or denominater monic.

RonL

3. Hello,

Also be careful, don't type ax, type a*x^3, etc

4. Mine does the same thing. Perhaps it is blowing its mind.

5. Originally Posted by galactus
Mine does the same thing. Perhaps it is blowing its mind.
Same here. I would guess one of its simplification routines gets stuck in an infinite loop somewhere. I played around with it and it seems to hang on many similar expressions involving ratios of polynomials with variable coefficients, but those of second degree seem to work, and eliminating certain terms or replacing some of their coefficients with constant expressions often takes care of it. Oh well.

6. Originally Posted by CaptainBlack
You do know that the solution is not unique don't you. Try making either the numerator or denominater monic.

RonL
Nope. It hangs using monic polynomials as well. Good thought, though.

-Dan