degree of freedom

degree of freedom

n. pl. degrees of freedom

1. Statistics Any of the unrestricted, independent random variables that constitute a statistic.

2. Physics

a. Any of the minimum number of coordinates required to specify completely the motion of a mechanical system.

b. Any of the independent thermodynamic variables, such as pressure, temperature, or composition, required to specify a system with a given number of phases and components.

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degree of freedom

n

1. (Physics / General Physics) Physics one of the minimum number of parameters necessary to describe a state or property of a system

2. (Physics / General Physics) one of the independent components of motion (translation, vibration, and rotation) of an atom or molecule

3. (Chemistry) Chem one of a number of intensive properties that can be independently varied without changing the number of phases in a system See also phase rule

4. (Mathematics & Measurements / Statistics) Statistics one of the independent unrestricted random variables constituting a statistic

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degree of freedom

1. Any of the independent thermodynamic variables, such as pressure, temperature, or composition, required to specify a system with a given number of phases and components.

2. Any of the independent terms used to characterize the way a physical system can store energy. For example, a molecule consisting of two atoms can be thought of as having three degrees of freedom: one for its linear motion (as the whole molecule moves through space), one for its angular motion (as it rotates around its center of gravity) and one for its internal vibrational energy (as the atoms pull and push against each other within their chemical bond).

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	degree of freedom - (statistics) an unrestricted variable in a frequency distribution variable quantity, variable - a quantity that can assume any of a set of values statistics - a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters
	2.	degree of freedom - one of the minimum number of parameters needed to describe the state of a physical system parameter, parametric quantity - a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves