# Big O Notation - Example

Example

In typical usage, the formal definition of O notation is not used directly; rather, the O notation for a function f(x) is derived by the following simplification rules:

• If f(x) is a sum of several terms, the one with the largest growth rate is kept, and all others omitted.
• If f(x) is a product of several factors, any constants (terms in the product that do not depend on x) are omitted.

For example, let, and suppose we wish to simplify this function, using O notation, to describe its growth rate as x approaches infinity. This function is the sum of three terms: 6x4, −2x3, and 5. Of these three terms, the one with the highest growth rate is the one with the largest exponent as a function of x, namely 6x4. Now one may apply the second rule: 6x4 is a product of 6 and x4 in which the first factor does not depend on x. Omitting this factor results in the simplified form x4. Thus, we say that f(x) is a big-oh of (x4) or mathematically we can write f(x) = O(x4). One may confirm this calculation using the formal definition: let f(x) = 6x4 − 2x3 + 5 and g(x) = x4. Applying the formal definition from above, the statement that f(x) = O(x4) is equivalent to its expansion,

for some suitable choice of x0 and M and for all x > x0. To prove this, let x0 = 1 and M = 13. Then, for all x > x0:

begin{align}|6x^4 - 2x^3 + 5| &le 6x^4 + |2x^3| + 5\ &le 6x^4 + 2x^4 + 5x^4\ &le 13x^4\ &le 13|x^4|end{align}

so

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Example

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• Example (musician), a British musician
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• HMS Example (P165), an Archer-class patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy
• The Example, a 1634 play by James Shirley
• The Example (comics), a 2009 graphic novel by Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson

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