General Education Mathematics Review – Key Vocabulary

40 vocabulary flashcards summarizing fundamental mathematics concepts, properties, and definitions highlighted in the lecture notes for quick exam review.

Order of Operations (PEMDAS)

A rule that specifies the sequence in which operations (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication & Division, Addition & Subtraction) are performed to correctly evaluate expressions.

Prime Number

A natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself.

Composite Number

A natural number greater than 1 that has more than two positive divisors.

Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

The largest integer that divides two or more integers without leaving a remainder.

Least Common Multiple (LCM)

The smallest positive integer that is a multiple of two or more integers.

Associative Property

A property stating that how numbers are grouped does not change their sum or product, e.g., (a + b) + c = a + (b + c).

Distributive Property

A property that relates multiplication to addition or subtraction: a(b + c) = ab + ac.

Complementary Angles

Two angles whose measures add up to 90 degrees.

Supplementary Angles

Two angles whose measures add up to 180 degrees.

Right Triangle

A triangle that has one 90-degree angle.

Hypotenuse

The side opposite the right angle in a right triangle; the triangle’s longest side.

Pythagorean Theorem

In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides (a² + b² = c²).

Sine

In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the hypotenuse (opposite/hypotenuse).

Cosine

In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to the hypotenuse (adjacent/hypotenuse).

Tangent

In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the adjacent side (opposite/adjacent).

Ratio

A comparison of two quantities by division, expressed a:b or a⁄b.

Proportion

An equation stating that two ratios are equal.

Percent

A ratio that compares a number to 100, denoted with the symbol %.

Simple Interest

Interest calculated only on the principal amount: I = Prt (Principal × rate × time).

Principal

The original sum of money invested or borrowed before interest.

Mean

The average of a data set; the sum of all values divided by the number of values.

Median

The middle value of an ordered data set; if even count, the average of the two middle numbers.

Mode

The value(s) that occur most frequently in a data set.

Range (Statistics)

The difference between the largest and smallest values in a data set.

Outlier

A data value that is significantly higher or lower than most other values in a set and can distort measures like the mean.

Probability

A measure of how likely an event is to occur, expressed as a ratio of favorable outcomes to total possible outcomes.

Permutation

An arrangement of objects in a specific order; number of ways given by n! for n distinct objects.

Combination

A selection of objects without regard to order; number of ways given by nCr = n! / (r!(n-r)!).

Circular Permutation

Arrangements of objects around a circle; for n distinct objects, (n − 1)! ways.

Line Graph

A graph that uses points connected by lines to show how data changes over time.

Pie Graph (Circle Graph)

A circular chart divided into sectors showing the relative sizes of parts to a whole.

Bar Graph

A chart that uses bars of equal width to represent data values for comparison across categories.

George Polya

Mathematician known as the “Father of Problem Solving,” famous for his four-step problem-solving process.

Discount

A reduction from the original price, usually expressed as a percent of that price.

Unit Conversion

The process of changing a measurement from one unit to another using conversion factors.

Kilometer to Centimeter Conversion

1 kilometer equals 100,000 centimeters.

Volume of a Cube

The amount of space inside a cube, calculated as V = s³ where s is the length of an edge.

Perimeter of a Rectangle

The total distance around a rectangle, P = 2(l + w).

Area of a Trapezoid

The space inside a trapezoid, A = ½h(b₁ + b₂) where h is height and b₁ and b₂ are the lengths of the two bases.

Similar Triangles

Triangles that have the same shape; corresponding angles are equal and corresponding sides are proportional.