Vinculum (symbol)

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A vinculum is a horizontal line placed over a mathematical expression. It shows that this expression belongs together as a group. (Vinculum is Latin for "chain".)

Examples of its use include the case of a group of infinitely repeating digits, for example,

\frac{1}{3} = 0.333333\dots = 0.\overline{3}

It is also used in common arithmetic to show that the numerator is being divided by the denominator as a whole group.

\frac{500}{10 \times 10} = \frac{5}{1} = 5

It is also used in the notation of a radical to indicate the radicand whose root is being indicated. In the next case, the quantity ab + 2 is the radicand, and thus has a vinculum over it.

\sqrt[n]{ab+2}

It is also used to show the repeating terms in a periodic continued fraction. Quadratic irrational numbers are the only numbers that have these.

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