Algebra II For Dummies

Important terms and concepts from the Algebra II For Dummies book.

What is the commutative property?

States that you can change the order of the values in an addition or multiplication operation without changing the final result.

What is the associative property?

States that you can change the grouping of operations (addition or multiplication) without changing the result.

What is the distributive property?

States that you can multiply each term in an expression within a parenthesis by the coefficient outside the parenthesis without changing the value of the expression.

What is zero's role in algebra?

The additive identity.

What is one's role in algebra?

The multiplicative identity.

What is the multiplication property of zero?

If the product of two or more values is zero, then at least one of the values has to be zero.

What is a^n?

An exponential expression with a base of a and an exponent of n.

What happens when you factor an algebraic expression?

Terms of an algebraic expression are rewritten as a product.

What is a coefficient?

The multiplier or factor of a variable.

What is a constant?

A number that doesn’t change in value.

What does it mean to simplify?

To change an expression into an equivalent form that you combined, reduced, factored, or otherwise made more useable.

What does it mean to solve?

To find the value or values of the variable that makes a statement true.

What is a term?

A grouping of constants and variables connected by multiplication, division, or grouping symbols and separated from other constants and variables by addition or subtraction.

What is a variable?

Something that can have many values.

How is the term 'linear equations' defined?

Variables that reach only the first degree.

What does an inequality show?

Shows algebraic relationships between a number and an expression or between two expressions.

What does the absolute value operation record for a number inserted between the absolute value bars, |a|?

The distance of that number from zero on the number line.

How can a quadratic be described?

The highest power of a variable term is two.