A function machine is a way of writing rules using a flow diagram. The equation \(3j - 6 = 9\) can be shown on a function machine by writing out the functions that have been applied to \(j\) in ...

Having lowered the bar for the sense in which we hope to solve a system of linear equations, one might wonder whether this quantum algorithm 3 offers a real advantage over classical computing at all.

This means equations are not always true. In the example above, \(3x + 5 = 11\), the only correct solution for \(x\) is 2. An identity is an equation which is always true, no matter what values ...