Math terms

Absolute Value

Absolute Value

Always a positive number, distance of a number from 0.

Acute Angle

measure is between 0° and 90°.

Addend

numbers being added are called addends.

Angle

Two rays sharing the same endpoint (called the angle vertex).

Angle Bisector

The line dividing an angle into two equal angles.

Array

A set of numbers or objects that follow a specific pattern.

Attribute

A characteristic or feature of an object—such as size, shape, color, etc.—that allows it to be grouped.

Average

same as mean.

Base 10

Number system that assigns place value to numbers.

Bell Curve

The bell shape created when a line is plotted using data points for an item that meets the criteria of normal distribution. The center of a bell curve contains the highest value points.

Binomial

A polynomial equation with two terms usually joined by a plus or minus sign.

Capacity

The volume of substance that a container will hold.

Centimeter

A metric unit of measurement for length, abbreviated as cm. 2.5 cm is approximately equal to an inch.

Circumference

The complete distance around a circle or a square.

Chord

A segment joining two points on a circle.

Common Factors

A factor shared by two or more numbers, common factors are numbers that divide exactly into two different numbers.

Complementary Angles

Two angles that together equal 90°.

Composite Number

A positive integer with at least one factor aside from its own. Composite numbers cannot be prime because they can be divided exactly.

Conic Section

The section formed by the intersection of a plane and cone.

Constant

A value that does not change.

Congruent

Objects and figures that have the same size and shape. Congruent shapes can be turned into one another with a flip, rotation, or turn.

Cosine

In a right triangle, cosine is a ratio that represents the length of a side adjacent to an acute angle to the length of the hypotenuse.

Decagon

A polygon/shape with ten angles and ten straight lines.

Diagonal

A line segment that connects two vertices in a polygon.

Diameter

A line that passes through the center of a circle and divides it in half.

Difference

The difference is the answer to a subtraction problem.

Dividend

A number being divided into equal parts (inside the bracket in long division).

Divisor

A number that divides another number into equal parts (outside of the bracket in long division).

Edge

A line is where two faces meet in a three-dimensional structure.

Ellipse

An ellipse looks like a slightly flattened circle and is also known as a plane curve. Planetary orbits take the form of ellipses.

End Point

The "point" at which a line or curve ends.

Equilateral

A term used to describe a shape whose sides are all of equal length.

Event

This term often refers to an outcome of probability; it may answer questions about the probability of one scenario happening over another.

Evaluate

This word means "to calculate the numerical value".

Expressions

Symbols that represent numbers or operations between numbers.

Face

The flat surfaces on a three-dimensional object.

Factor

A number that divides into another number exactly.

Factoring

The process of breaking numbers down into all of their factors.

Factorial Notation

Often used in combinatorics, factorial notations requires that you multiply a number by every number smaller than it. The symbol used in factorial notation is ! When you see x!, the factorial of x is needed.

Fibonacci Sequence

A sequence beginning with a 0 and 1 whereby each number is the sum of the two numbers preceding it. "0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34..." is a Fibonacci sequence.

Figure

Two-Dimensional shapes.

Frequency

The number of times an event can happen in a given period of time; often used in probability calculations.

Furlong

A unit of measurement representing the side length of one square acre. One furlong is approximately 1/8 of a mile, 201.17 meters, or 220 yards.

Greatest Common Factor

The largest number common to each set of factors that divides both numbers exactly. The greatest common factor of 10 and 20 is 10.

Histogram

A graph that uses bars that equal ranges of values.

Hyperbola

A type of conic section or symmetrical open curve. The hyperbola is the set of all points in a plane, the difference of whose distance from two fixed points in the plane is a positive constant.

Hypotenuse

The longest side of a right-angled triangle, always opposite to the right angle itself.

Identity

An equation that is true for variables of any value.

Inequality

A mathematical equation expressing inequality and containing a greater than (>), less than (<), or not equal to (≠) symbol.

Integers

All whole numbers, positive or negative, including zero.

Irrational

A number that cannot be represented as a decimal or fraction. A number like pi is irrational because it contains an infinite number of digits that keep repeating. Many square roots are also irrational numbers.

Isosceles

A polygon with two sides of equal length.

Kilometer

A unit of measure equal to 1000 meters.

Knot

A closed three-dimensional circle that is embedded and cannot be untangled.

Like Terms

Terms with the same variable and same exponents/powers.

Like Fractions

Fractions with the same denominator.

Line

A straight infinite path joining an infinite number of points in both directions.

Line Segment

A straight path that has two endpoints, a beginning and an end.

Linear Equation

An equation that contains two variables and can be plotted on a graph as a straight line.

Line of Symmetry

A line that divides a figure into two equal shapes.

Logarithm

The power to which a base must be raised to produce a given number. If nx = a, the logarithm of a, with n as the base, is x. Logarithm is the opposite of exponentiation.

Median

The median is the "middle value" in a series of numbers ordered from least to greatest.

Mixed Numbers

Mixed numbers refer to whole numbers combined with fractions or decimals. Example 3 1/2 or 3.5.

Mode

The mode in a list of numbers are the values that occur most frequently.

Modular Arithmetic

A system of arithmetic for integers where numbers "wrap around" upon reaching a certain value of the modulus.

Monomial

An algebraic expression made up of one term.

Multiple

The multiple of a number is the product of that number and any other whole number. 2, 4, 6, and 8 are multiples of 2.

Multiplicand

A quantity multiplied by another. A product is obtained by multiplying two or more multiplicands.

Natural Numbers

Regular counting numbers.

Net

A two-dimensional shape that can be turned into a two-dimensional object by gluing/taping and folding.

Nth Root

The nth root of a number is how many times a number needs to be multiplied by itself to achieve the value specified. Example: the 4th root of 3 is 81 because 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81.

Norm

The mean or average; an established pattern or form.

Normal Distribution

Also known as Gaussian distribution, normal distribution refers to a probability distribution that is reflected across the mean or center of a bell curve.

Numerator

The top number in a fraction.

Numeral

A written symbol denoting a number value.

Obtuse Angle

An angle measuring between 90° and 180°.

Obtuse Triangle

A triangle with at least one obtuse angle.

Operation

Refers to addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

Ordinal

Ordinal numbers give relative position in a set: first, second, third, etc.

Parallelogram

A quadrilateral with two sets of opposite sides that are parallel.

Parabola

An open curve whose points are equidistant from a fixed point called the focus and a fixed straight line called the directrix.

Perpendicular

Two lines or line segments intersecting to form a right angle.

Plane

a set of points join together to form a flat surface that extends in all directions.

Polynomial

The sum of two or more monomials.

Polygon

Line segments joined together to form a closed figure.

Prime Numbers

integers greater than 1 that are only divisible by themselves and 1.

Product

The sum obtained through multiplication of two or more numbers.

Proper Fraction

A fraction whose denominator is greater than its numerator.

Quadrant

One quarter (qua) of the plane on the Cartesian coordinate system. The plane is divided into 4 sections, each called a quadrant.

Quadratic Equation

An equation that can be written with one side equal to 0. Quadratic equations ask you to find the quadratic polynomial that is equal to zero.

Quartic

A polynomial having a degree of 4.

Quintic

A polynomial having a degree of 5.

Quotient

The solution to a division problem.

Radius

A distance found by measuring a line segment extending from the center of a circle to any point on the circle; the line extending from the center of a sphere to any point on the outside edge of the sphere.

Ray

A straight line with only one endpoint that extends infinitely.

Range

The difference between the maximum and minimum in a set of data.

Remainder

The number left over when a quantity cannot be divided evenly. A remainder can be expressed as an integer, fraction, or decimal.

Right Angle

An angle equal to 90°.

Right Triangle

A triangle with one right angle.

Rhombus

A parallelogram with four sides of equal length and no right angles.