PARAMETER

in mathematics, a variable for which the range of possible values identifies a collection of distinct cases in a problem. Any equation expressed in terms of parameters is a parametric equation. The general equation of a straight line in slope-intercept form, y = mx + b, in which m and b are parameters, is an example of a parametric equation. When values are assigned to the parameters, such as the slope m = 2 and the y-intercept b = 3, and substitution is made, the resulting equation, y = 2x + 3, is that of a specific straight line and is no longer parametric. In statistics, the parameter in a function is the variable sought by means of evidence from samples. The resulting assigned value is the estimate, or statistic.