Glossary of Mathematical Terms with a few examples and illustrations
By Roger Bickley Second Version Š Walk-In Training 2011
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LATSPHHOND The mnemonic LATSPHHOND helps you to remember the names and sides of the first 10 regular polygons:
1
L
Line
2
A
Angle
3
T
Triangle
4
S
Square
5
P
Pentagon
6
H
Hexagon
7
H
Heptagon
8
O
Octagon
9
N
Nonagon
10
D
Decagon 2
2-D shapes Shapes in two dimensions – i.e. which can be drawn on paper. Examples include triangles, squares, pentagons etc
3- D shapes Objects in 3 dimensions – i.e. which have height, length and breadth, for example cubes, cuboids, prisms
12-hour clock Most domestic clocks have a clock face which shows the numbers 1 to 12 around the edge. Times are said (or written) using the term a.m. (antemeridian – i.e. before 12 o‟clock mid-day) or p.m. (post meridian – i.e. after 12 o‟clock mid-day) to indicate whether the time is morning or afternoon – e.g. 7:30 am is half-past seven in the morning and 9:20 pm is twenty past nine in the evening
24-hour clock This clock (usually) has two sets of numbers around the dial – 1 – to 12 around the outside and 13 to 24 around the inside – giving two numbers for every hour – e.g. 1 o‟clock is also 13 o‟clock, 6 o‟clock is also 18 o‟clock and so on – except we don‟t say „o‟clock‟ but simply „hours and the time is written differently – so 6 o‟clock in the morning is 0600 hours on the 24 hour clock and 6 o‟clock in the evening is 1800 hours. The simple rule is that if the time is before 12 noon the hours stay as they are – e.g. 0830 and if they are after noon we add twelve to the number – e.g. 8:30 in the evening is 2030 hours
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Accuracy The level of detail required in an answer. For example there might have been 23102 people at a football match – but many people would say there were around 23000. The accuracy demanded of an answer will usually be determined in the question or problem – e.g. „write you answer to 2 DECIMAL PLACES‟ or „give your answer to one SIGNIFICANT FIGURE)
Acute angle
Less than 900
An angle between 00 and 890
Adjacent “Next to” – in angle terms this means angles next to each other, as in the illustration: Angles a and b are adjacent b a
Algebra The branch of mathematics which uses letters to represent unknown quantities – for example we might say three apples and four bananas cost 30 pence, and this could be written as: 3a + 4b = 30
Algebraic Fraction These are similar to „normal‟ fractions in that they have a NUMERATOR (top) and DENOMINATOR (Bottom) – the difference being that both top and bottom are algebraic expressions:
4a 12a2
12d2 16d
15g4 60g7
Usually, as part of the problem-solving process, you will be required to simplify such expression
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Alternate angles Angles which are the same size and are created by drawing a straight line across a pair of parallel lines
c The angles c are equal
c am Stands for ante-meridian and means times between midnight 00.00 and Noon 12.00 (see also p.m.). Times are written (for example) 2.35am which means „twenty-five minutes to three in the morning‟
Angle bisector A line which cuts an angle in half – two equal angles:
Angle in a semicircle If you draw a diameter and then create a triangle from this diameter – the angle opposite the diameter will ALWAYS be a right angle (900) Red squares are 900
Diameter
Angles in a Triangle
The sum of the angles in ANY triangle is always 1800
α + β + γ = 1800 How you can cut up a triangle and arrange the angles in straight line – to „prove‟ that the total is 1800
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Angles at a Point
The sum of the angles at a point is ALWAYS 3600
Approximation When we are solving (or trying to solve) a maths problems we need to know the degree of accuracy needed. For example, if a nurse is drawing up drugs for a patient, accuracy is clearly vital. However, if you only want an „idea‟ of the size of an answer – you might get away with rounding the figures to give you a feeling for how large the answer should be Example 3.1 x 4.9 If we haven‟t got a calculator this involves writing the numbers down on paper and doing a, slightly messy, calculation – always with the possibility of putting the decimal point in the wrong place! If however, we round the 3.1 down to 3 and round the 4.9 up to 4 we have a much easier calculation – and the answer to THIS calculation is 3 x 5 = 15 NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE ANSER TO THE PROBLEM This does give us an idea of SIZE of the answer The actual answer is 15.19 which is close enough to our approximation (15) to give us confidence that the answer is correct
Arc Length As its name suggests arc length if the length of an arc of a circle! Length of arc =
a
Angle a x 2πr 360 NOTE: We are working out a fraction of the length of the circumference of the circle (2πr)
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Area A measure of the „space‟ within a shape – the area is sometimes given by a formula (e.g. the area of a square is l x l – where l is the length of the side) and sometimes you need to work out the area by working out the areas of small parts of the shapes and adding the separate areas together.
Area of a rectangle Area of rectangle = w x b where w is the length of one side of the rectangle and b is the length of the other side
b
w
Area of a parallelogram
h
w
Area of parallelogram = w x h
Area of a triangle Area of triangle = 1/2 x b x h h
b
Arc A part of the circumference of a circle
Arrowhead A quadrilateral (four-sided shape) in the shape of an arrow:
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Arithmetic Mean See below
Average (see also Mean) A quick measure of the general „size‟ of a set of data. Calculated by adding up all the separate piece of data and then dividing by the number of pieces of data. For example the average of 2, 3, 7, 9, 14 is 2 + 3+ 7 + 9+ 14 divided by 5 = 7
Axes of symmetry A line drawn on a shape or graph so that the part of the shape on one side of the line is a mirror image of the shape on the other side of the line Axis of symmetry
Bar chart A type of picture used to illustrate data. It is created by first
A Vertical Bar Chart
A horizontal bar chart
Bearing
The direction of one point from another – e.g. we might say that B is 900 in relation to A (which in fact would mean that B was due East of A) A
900
B
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Bias When you do a statistical calculation you need to have all the possible outcomes to be equally likely (e.g. the faces of a die appearing upwards). If the events are not equally likely (e.g. you only ask women what football team they support!) then there will be bias (less women than men are likely to support a particular football team)
BIDMAS A „made up word‟ standing for the order in which arithmetic operations are to be carried out. The letters stand for: B– Brackets (these are to be worked out first) I – Indices D – Division M – Multiplication A – Addition S – Subtraction
Billion 1,000,000,000 (one thousand million)
Binary system
The system of arithmetic which uses only the numbers 0 and 1 to represent any number (as against the 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 we use in then decimal system)
Bisect “Cut into equal halves” – as in bisect and angle – cut into two equal pieces
Box Plot A Box Plot (also known as a box and whisker plot) illustrates the distribution of a set of data – including Lowest Value, Highest Value, UPPER QUARTILE, LOWER QUARTILE and MEDIAN Example Median
Lower Quartile
Upper Quartile
Lowest Value
0
2
4
6
8
10
Highest Value
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
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Brackets Used to separate parts of an expression (e.g. in formulae). NOTE: that BIDMAS tells us to carry out the calculations within the brackets, before carrying out other actions. 5 + 3(7 – 2) = 5 + 3 x 5 = 5 + 15 = 20
Calculator An electronic machine used for carrying out calculations. Simple calculators can ‟do‟ normal addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, together with percentages and possible square roots. More complex calculators (often called Scientific calculators, can do more complex mathematical tasks (like drawing graphs on the screen) and often can be programmed
Calendar A chart which shows the days of the week and months of the year – in particular the 31 days in January, March, May, July, August, October, December; the 30 days in April, June. September and November and the peculiarity of February which has 28 in it each year, except a Leap Year when it has 29 days
Cancelling fractions The process of making fractions smaller and more manageable by dividing the top number (the numerator) by the same number as the denominator – e.g. the fraction 8/12 can be simplified by cancelling down – divide top and bottom by 4 and we have 2/3, the simplified fraction Example: 6/12 can be simplified by dividing top and bottom by 6 to give 1/2 – the fractions 6/12 and 1/2 are called Equivalent Fractions
Capacity, units of Units used to measure volume – e.g. cubic centimetres (c.c), cubic feet etc
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Carry When doing out calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – when there is a remainder you move the reminder (carry it) in order to continue the calculation:
5 6
4
1
9 7 3
6 6 4 7 463
And there will be another remainder of 4 to carry
Cartesian Coordinates These are the points which you plot on a graph. The name is in memory of the mathematician Descartes
Remember: The point are in pairs – in the order (x,y) Celsius
A unit of temperature measure – 00c is freezing point of water 1000c is the boiling point of water
Census The process of collecting information on everybody in the UK. This process is carried out every 10 years – when there is a 1 at the end of the year! (2001, 2011, 2021 ....). This information is used by government to help them with policies such as Health, Education etc
Centigrade A unit of measurement of temperature (also called Celsius). The melting point of ice is 00c and the temperature at which water becomes steam is 1000c
Centilitre A measurement within the metric system equal to 1/100 of a litre
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Centimetre A measurement of length within the metric system = 1/100 of a metre
Centre of a Circle This is the point inside a circle which is the same distance from the sides of the circle (another ways to look at it is that a circle is the LOCUS of a point which stays the same distance from a given point (the Centre of the Circle)
Centre of Enlargement
See Enlargement, Centre of
Centre of rotation The point around which an object is to be rotated. In many/most cases the centre of rotation will be the centre of the object – but it doesn‟t need to be so:
A
The triangle has been rotated 900 clockwise about the Centre of Rotation A
Certainty The mathematical probability of 1 – (if the probability of event happening is 0 then the event is impossible - b) – e.g. it is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning (probability 1 - a) and it is impossible that there will be a 30 February (probability 0)
Chance The likelihood of something happening – e.g. the chance of getting a head when tossing a coin is ½
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Changing the Subject (of a formula) Formulae are usually written with the aim of finding a particular unknown: e.g. y = 5x + 3 if we substitute x = (say) 5 in this equation we get y =5 x 5 + 3 = 28 so y = 28 But, if we want to find x, given y we need to rearrange the equation to put x on its own: x = (y – 3) ÷ 5 This rearranging of the equation is called Changing the Subject (in the first equation, y is the subject and in the second x is the subject
Chord A line drawn across the inside of a circle, touching the circle twice and which doesn‟t go through the centre.
Circle Strictly a circle is formed by the path (locus) of a point moving at the same distance from another point. This is achieved, usually, by means of a compass – where the pencil stays the same distance form the point, as the compass is rotated.
Circumference The circumference of a circle is the distance around it The circumference of a circle is calculated as follows;
Centre
Circumference – 2 x Π x r Where r is the radius
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Circumscribe Literally (draw around) So a circumscribed circle around a triangle look like:
Class interval The upper and lower limit of a band of data – e.g. if you were measuring people‟s heights you might have an interval of 10cm – all people between
Coefficient When you have an equation of formula you usually have unknowns (letters) and these letters have numbers in forn of them. These numbers are called to COEFFICIENT of the unknown Example
y = 5x2 + 7x - 9 the 5 is the COEFFIENT of x2 and 7 is the COEFFICIENT of x. NOTE: the -9 is not a coefficient but is called the CONSTANT TERM
Collecting terms In algebra the process of simplifying calculations by collecting terms of the same type – e.g. 3a + 5a – 2a = 6a
Column Graph A graph where the data is shown as a series of columns (or BARS) – this chart is also called a BAR CHART
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Common Factor A number (FACTOR) which will divide into two or more other numbers Example 5 will divide into 15, 325 and 1005 – and so is a COMMON FACTOR
Common Multiple A number into which all of a set of number will divide Example Take the numbers 3, 4, 5 – a COMMON MULTIPLE is 60 because 3, 4, 5 will all divide into 60. NOTE: another way of look at COMMON MULTIPLES is as a multiplication table = 60 = 3 x 20; 60 = 15 x 4; 60 = 12 x 5
Compass An instrument used for measuring direction. Most compasses identify North, South, East, West, South-East, South-West. North-East, North-West
Compasses A instrument used for drawing circles, or parts of a circle.
Complementary Angle
Two angles are complementary if they add up to 900 b
a
b
In both cases a and b are complementary angles a
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Concave When a shape is „bowed‟ inwards rather than outwards (as in CONVEX) think of the idea of a „cave‟ and that it goes into the rock.
Completing the Square The process of re-writing a quadratic so that it is solvable – by making one side into a square! Suppose we have f(x) = 2x2 + 3x – 5 Step 1 – “add ½ the coefficient of x and square it to BOTH sides” And we get 2x2 + 3x – 5 + (3/2)2 – 5 And we can write this as 2(x2 + 3/2x) – 5 NOTE the number in the bracket is ALWAYS ½ the coefficient of x – or b/2a
Compound Interest When you INVEST money you expect to get back not only the money you invested, but some extra money (for you lending the money) – this extra money is called the INTEREST and is usually worked out per year. But, if you invest your money for more than one year you will not only get the interest for the first year but also interest on the interest for the second year – an so on Example Suppose you invested 1000 for 3 years at 10% At the end of the first year you would have 1000 + 1000 x 10% = 1000 + 100 = 1100 At the end of the second year you would have 1100 + 1100 x 10% = 1100 +110 = 1210 At the end of the third year you would have 1210 + 1210 x 10% = 1210 + 121 = 1331 Your investment of 1000 has now grown to 1331 – with compound interest
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Concentric Circles A collection of circles of different sizes which all have the same centre:
.
All these circles have the same centre
Cone A three dimensional object which has a round base which tapers upward to a point (or VERTEX)
Three versions of the cone
Congruence Meaning the same as in every detail – so two shapes are only congruent if each side on one shape has a similar sized side on the other and each angle on one shape has an equivalent sized angle on the other.
Consecutive One after another – e.g. the next three consecutive numbers after 5,6,7,8 are 9, 10, 11
Conjecture An „educated guess‟ – i.e. a prediction based on evidence. So, you might say “a pattern which I have found in a series of numbers suggests that the next number will be, and the nth number will be.....”. It is then up to you to prove your conjecture!
Constant A constant is a number, usually a real number, whose value is fixed – i.e. doesn‟t vary. For example the number 5 in the equation
3x2 + 9x – 5 is a constant, whereas x is a variable
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Construction A drawing which is made using (usually) only ruler and compass. Constructions are often of, for example, triangles or hexagons etc
Usually, you will use only ruler, pencil, compasses and possibly a protractor
Continuous data Data which cannot be split into distinct groups or categories, except by choosing ranges – e.g. the height of people goes on and on and there is no starting and finishing points – so we tend to say „those people between 5‟3” and 5‟6” then those between 5‟7 and 5‟10 and so on‟
Convert To change from one form to another – e.g. change from one currency to another (£ to $) or from one form of measure to another e.g. miles to kilometres
Conversion graph A graph used to convert one quantity into another – e.g. converting money from one currency to another, or metric to imperial measures.
Convex A shape which „bows‟ outward – as opposed to inward (concave)
A example of using the idea of convexity in a mirror
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Co-ordinates The system of locating where point is – using pairs of numbers (x,y) where the first number is taken to be horizontal (along the x-axis) the second number to be vertical (along the y-axis)
a
and
Correlation The relationship between two more sets of data.
or
Correlation, negative A situation where there is little or no relationship between two sets of data – e.g. the colour of a pupil‟s eyes and their performance in a mathematics exam
Correlation, positive A situation where there is a close relationship between two sets of data – e.g. the amount of homework done by students and their performance in examinations
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Corresponding angles Angle which have the same relationship to one another, usually created using parallel lines.
b
The angles b are equal
b Cosine Rule A rule (or formula) to work out an angle or a side when you are given certain information – e.g. two of the sides and the included angle
b2 = a2 + c2 + 2ac Cos B
Counting numbers The „normal‟ numbers we use to count objects – 1,2,3,4,5,6 …..
Cross-section A „slice‟ through a solid object, showing what the object is like „from the inside‟.
A cross-section of a tap – showing how it looks „from the inside‟
Cube A three-dimensional object with all faces being squares
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Cube Numbers The cube numbers are so-called because they are all the VOLUMES of cubes which have INTEGER (whole number) lengths of side So a cube with side 1 will have a volume of 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 (the first cube number) A cube with a side of 2 will have a volume of 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 (the second cube number) A cube with a side of 3 will have a volume of 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 (the third cube number) The first 6 cube numbers are 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 218
Cubic Graph A CUBIC GRAPH is a graph of a CUBIC FUNCTION – that is a function which has a highest power of 3 Examples:
Cuboid A three dimensional „box‟ with opposite sides equal and all angles equal to 900
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Cumulative Frequency A rolling sum – where you add up each of the preceding frequencies to get the next one. The example below shows how it is done Frequency: 4 6 3 2 6 4
Cumulative Frequency: 4 10 13 15 21 25
(4 (4 (4 (4 (4
+ + + + +
6) 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
3) 3 + 2) 3 + 2 + 6) 3 + 2 + 6 + 4)
Cummulative Frequency Graph A „picture of the CUMMULATIVE FREQUENCY table:
Currency The general name given to the means by which goods and services are bought and sold – in the UK the currency is the £ and in the United States the dollar.
Cyclic Quadrilateral A quadrilateral which fits perfectly inside a circle:
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Cylinder An example of a RIGHT PRISM – the cross-section is a constant-sized circle:
Data Facts – usually collected using DATA COLLECTION SHEETS – e.g. colour of eyes, age, car driven etc. NOTE: Not to be confused with INFORMATON which is DATA is connected to make sense – e.g. “John has blue eyes, is 27 and drives a Ford car”
Data, continuous Data (numbers) which „flow‟ together without there being a break – e.g. heights of children, temperatures etc
Data, discrete Data which is separate from other data – e.g. the number of people who like a particular flavour of crisps, people with particular colour eyes etc
Data collection sheet
Data collection sheet to collect information about people‟s attitudes to recycling
Decagon A ten-sided POLYGON . If all the sides are the same size it is called REGULAR
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Decimal A counting system which uses the number 10 (dec) as its base, so for example, all numbers in this system are multiples of powers of 10: 1 10 102 103 104 105 and so on NOTE 1: !01 = 10 and 100 = 1 NOTE 2: any number to the power 0 is always 1
Decimal fraction A decimal fraction is simply a decimal which can be converted into a fraction For example 0.2 is 1/5 and 0.3333333333333 is 1/3
Decimal Place The position of a digit after the decimal point: In the number 24.5734 the digit 3 is in the third decimal place
Decimal Point A mark (or dot) which separates the whole number part of a number from the fractional part – the digits to the RIGHT of the decimal point represent parts of a whole
Decimal system A system of arithmetic which uses the ten digits 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 to express and carry out calculations – dec meaning TEN
Decrease Make smaller or lessen. The result of a decrease is always a quantity which is smaller than the one you started with.
Degree A measure of rotation – there being 360 degrees to go around completely!
Denary Another name for the system which uses the number 10 as the base of all calculations – also called the DECIMAL system
Denominator The number on the bottom of a fraction - in the fraction 3/4 the 4 is the denominator
Diagonal A line drawn from one vertex (point) of a shape to another vertex.
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Diameter
All lines are diameters
Any line drawn from one side of a circle to the other, and going through the centre
Dice The plural of the word DIE – which is a six-sided cube with the numbers (usually) 1 – 6 on each of its sides
Die
Dice
Difference of two squares If you have any two numbers – let‟s call them x and y and you square them and subtract on square form the other, you get x 2 – y2 you can factorise this expression to give you (x = y)(x – y) and this is true for ALL NUMBERS Example 1002 – 992 = (100 + 99)(100 – 99) = 199 x 1 = 199 (easier than working out 1002 and 992!
Difference Table Used to work out the general formula for a sequence of numbers Suppose we have a sequence:
7
12
17
22
27
32
37
.....
.....
To help us find the formula we create a DIFFERENCE TABLE: n nth term 1st difference 5n
1 7
2 12 5
5
3 17 5
10
4 22 5
15
5 27 5
20
6 32 5
25
30
Having got a first difference of 5 we know that the formula will start with 5n – and if we try working out the sequence using 5n we see that, in every terms we are „short‟ by 2 – so we add 2 to the 5n to get the formula The formula then is 5n + 2 – and this will give us any term in the sequence
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Digit Another name for number – often used to describe a part of a number or expression – for example „look at the third digit‟ in the number
Direct Proportion When one quantity changes in a fixed way (or constant) in relation to another we say the two quantities are in DIRECT PROPORTION Example The CIRCUMFERENCE of a circle is given by the equation c = π x d The constant is π (meaning that when we want to find the circumference of a circle – all we have to do is multiply the diameter by π The relation between two quantities which are in direct proportion is usually written as: c d and you say it “c is proportional to d” To write it as an equation we can solve we write: C = kd (where k is the constant – in this case π
Directed numbers Number which have a sign associated with them – the sign will be either positive + or negative -
Discount The amount of money which is deducted from the price of an article, usually in order to stimulate sales. The discount is often stated as a percentage – e.g. 10% off the original price.
Discrete data Data which stands alone and doesn‟t blend in with others. For example the number of pupils who support a particular team (you can‟t have 2.5 pupils!)
Division The technique for finding how many times one number will „fit‟ into another. Division is a method of repeated subtraction – you can simply subtract one number from the other and count how many times you can do it
Divisor Any number which will divide into a given number (NOTE: We will always have 1 and the number itself as divisors) Example 2, and 3 are divisor of 6 IMPORTANT NOTE: The full list of divisors for 6 is -2, -3, 2, 3 (in addition to 1, -1, 6 and -6)
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Dodecagon A POLYGON which has 12 sides. If all the sides are the same length the polygon is called REGULAR
An Australian 50 cent piece which has 12 sides (although they aren‟t straight!)
Dodecahedron A 12-sides three-dimensional solid – comprised of 12 pentagons
Dodecahedron
Net of Dodecahedron
Edge The place where two edges meet – usually a line, often sharp
EDGES
Elimination The process of „getting rid‟ of some parts of a problem – to make the problem easier to solve Example Take the SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS: 5x + 3y = 13 7x – 2y = 12 We solve these equations by ELIMINATING one of the variables (x and y). In this case it is easy to eliminate the y by multiplying the fist equation by 2 and the second equation by 3, to get
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10x + 6y = 26 21x – 6y = 36 If we now add these two equations we get: 31x = 62 And so x = 2 We solved these equations by eliminating one of the unknowns
Ellipse Another name for an ELLIPSE (see entry)
Enlargement The size of an object which is larger than the original. The making of the object larger is usually done according to a rule.
Enlargement, centre of The point from which an enlargement is carried out
Centre of enlargement
. Equally Likely Events which are equally likely are also described as „Evens‟ or 50-50
Equation A way of stating the relationship between two or more quantities. All equations have an = sign in them and this means that what is on one side of the = is of the same value as that which is on the other side of the = sign For example v = rt + ½ rt2
Equiangular Having all angles equal – as in a square, rectangle and any REGULAR POLYGON (see entry)
Equidistant The same distance from .......................
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Equilateral triangle A triangle which has all sides and all angles equal (all the angles are equal to 600 – there are 1800 is all triangles and this triangles has three angles equal) b
All angles equal to 600 All sides equal
b
b
Equivalence Equivalence means that two or more expressions, shapes etc can, for all practical purposes, be treated as being exactly the same. The most common examples are equations – where the left-hand side is to be treated exactly the same as the right-hand side; and congruent shapes – which are the same in every way.
Equivalent Equations When trying the solve an equation ,each line in the solution must contain and equivalent equation to the one above: Example: 5x + 3 = 2x – 9 5x – 2x = -3 -9 3x = -12 x = -4
In working out the solution to the equation we have subtracted 2x from BOTH sides and subtracted 3 from BOTH sides – in each step the equation is equivalent to the one above
Equivalent Fractions Fractions are EQUIVALENT if you can cncel them down so that they all become the same when they are cancelled to their lowest form: Example 8/12
10/15
200/300
24/36
14/21
Are all EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS because they can all be cancelled down to 2/3
Eratosthenes (sieve of) This is, in fact, a method for finding the PRIME NUMBERS (the method is actually called an ALGORITHM) You start off with a list of the numbers within which you want to find the PRIME NUMBERS (in the example we have picked numbers between 2 and 120) The first prime is 2 so we would put a circle around this number
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We then look at all the multiples of 2 (4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and so on) and put a cross through these (they are NOT primes because they are divisible by 2) The next number, after the first one (2) is also a prime, so put a circle around it (3). Now look at each multiple of 3 and put a cross against each of those not already having a cross – they can‟t be prime because they can be divided by 3) So, far we have two primes – 2 and 3 Start at the beginning of the list and find the first number which doesn‟t have a cross against it (5) – this also prime, so put a circle around it No put a cross against all the multiples of 5 which don‟t already have a cross against them We now have three primes – 2, 3, 5 Carry on like this and you will end up with the list of primes shown in the illustration.
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113
Escher A Dutch artist who created designs using mathematical shapes and ideas:
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Estimation The technique for approximating the answer to a calculation. NOTE that does not mean guessing the answer but involves rounding up parts of the „information‟ to make the calculation simpler and give an idea of the general „size‟ of the answer expected of the full calculation.
Euler’s Formula Let us name the parts of a POLYHEDRON V = Vertices, E = Edges, F = faces Then Euler‟ Formula says that, for EVERY, polyhedron:
V–E+F=2 Example Take a TETRAHEDRON:
It has 4 faces (F = 4) It has 4 vertices (V = 4) It has 6 edges (E = 6) So 4 – 6 + 4 = 2
Evaluate Sometimes you are given an expression – say 5x + 3y and also the values of x and y – and you have to work out the value of (EVALUATE) the expression Suppose we have 7x – 2y and x = 4 and y = 1 Then 7x – 2y = 7 x 4 – 2 x 1 = 28 – 2 = 26
Even Chance Two events have an equal possibility of happening (heads or tails in the toss of a coin) – also known as „evens‟ or 50/50
Even number A number which is divisible by 2 and leaves no remainder. The first five even numbers are 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and any other number ending in one of the these numbers is also even.
Event An occurrence of a particular activity. If you are studying the numbers which appear on a die when throwing it – every throw of the die is an event
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Exhaustive Events The total of all the possible outcomes of an experiment – i.e. every possible result is covered. For example, if you throw a normal 6-sided die you MUST get 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6
Expanding Multiplying out an expression and, usually, collecting all the like terms together: Example: Expand 3x(2x – 3) + 5x(x + 7) We get 6x2 – 9x +5x2 + 35x = 11x2 + 26x
Experimental Probability In order to work out the probability (likelihood) of an event (or events) happening you need to make the event happen a large number of times and then divide the number of successes by the number of events – e.g. you would find the probability of throwing a head by tossing the coin a large number of times (perhaps thousands) and dividing the number of heads by the number of tosses of the coin
You may need to throw the die a lot more times, in order to get very close to the theoretical probability
Exponent The number to which another number is to be raised (otherwise called „ the number of times it is to be multiplied by itself) Example 53 – 3 is the EXPONENT and means that 5 is to be multiplied by itself 3 times = 5 x 5 x 5 = 125
Expression A collection of unknowns and, possibly, numbers which means something. For example to hire a car might mean putting a deposit down of £10 and renting at £25 per day.
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We can write the cost for any rental as 10 + 25d – where d stands for the number of days‟ rental If we put another unknown and an equal sign in we get an equation – e.g. c = 10 + 25d
Exterior angles
`
Extrapolation Extending an idea or (in maths) a sequence, given the information for the first part of the sequence Example 2
9
16
23
30
...
...
...
The „rule‟ here is “add 7” so we can EXTRAPOLATE the series by adding 7 each time, to get the series: 2
9
16
23
30
37
41
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Faces The „sides‟ of a three-dimensional object – e.g. a cuboid has six faces.
Factor(s) The numbers which will divide into another number – e.g. the factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 – because all these numbers will divide into 12 without leaving a remainder. NOTE: All numbers have the factors 1 and themselves
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Factorising The process of breaking down a number or expression into parts which, when multiplied together, will give you the original number/expression. Example 1 The number 24 can be written as 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 – and the numbers 2 and 3 are the FACTORS – and the number 24 has been FACTORISED Example 2
6x2 – x – 2 = (2x + 1)(3x – 2) (2x + 1) and (3x – 2) are the factors
Fair/unfair (as in dice) A description usually applied to an object (or objects) which will be used in probability calculations. An object is fair if all possible outcomes (i.e. results) are equally likely – e.g. in a fair die the probability of getting a 1, 2, ,3 ,4 ,5 or 6 are all equally likely
The number of dots on opposite sides of a die (the singular of dice) add up to 7
Fibonacci numbers Named after a 14 century mathematician the numbers come from adding each pair of numbers to get the next one. E.g. if the first two numbers are 0 and 1 the third number is 0 = 1 = 1, the second number is 1 + 1 = 2, the fourth number is 1 + 2 = 3 the next 2 + 3 = 5, the next 3 + 5 = 8 and so on. The first twelve Fibonacci numbers are: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89
Finite Decimals A FINITE DECIMAL is one which „finishes‟ – there are no more digits to go after the last one written down: Example: 0.3
0.5
0.125
0.875
Foot A unit of length measurement in the Imperial system. 3 feet make a yard and there are 12 inches in a foot.
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Formula A way of expressing a relationship between quantities using letters and numbers. – e.g. we might say that the area of a rectangle is A = L x B where A is the Area, L is the length and B is the Breadth
Four Operations The four operations on numbers are Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division
Fractal A fractal is a geometric shape which is created by repeated, well defined, operations on a starting shape, with the same rule being applied to successive results. For example, the Sierpinski Triangle starts as a filled in triangle and then triangles are subtracted from it as in the successive illustrations below:
Fraction A way of describing parts of a whole. A fractions has two parts – the top part (called the Numerator) and the bottom part (called the Denominator). The bottom part tells how many parts the whole has been split into, and the top part tell how many part we are to take. The circle on the left has been cut into three pieces and 2 of them coloured in – giving us 2/3 coloured in The circle on the right has been cut into 12 pieces with 8 slides coloured in – giving us 8/12 coloured in And these two fractions are clearly the same
Frequency The number of times something happens. In mathematics it might be the number of times the Ace of spades is drawn when a pack of cards is cut, of the number of times a 6 appears when a dice is thrown.
Frequency Distribution A graph showing the numbers of times each EVENT happens
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Frequency polygon A shape drawn on a bar chart where the point of the shapes are the mid points of the bars.
The frequency polygon
Frequency Table A FREQUENCY TABLES records how often (frequently) a particular piece of data occurs Class Interval 0–9 10 – 19 20 – 29 30 – 39 40 – 49 50 - 59 60 - 69
Tally 111 1111 1111 1 1111 11 1111 1111 111 1111 1 11 Sum =
Frequency 4 11 7 5 8 6 2 43
The total amount of data collected
Function A formula or procedure which carries out a set series of operations – e.g. ou might say “take a number, double it and add 5”
Function Machine A (mathematical) machine which takes an INPUT and operates on it according to a set of rules (adding, subtracting, multiplying etc) to give a result – called the OUTPUT Example:
In this FUNCTION MACHINE we have taken (INPUT) the number 5 and subtracted 2 from it and then multiplied this answer by 3 – to get the OUTPUT 9 NOTE: it is from this idea of a FUNCTION MACHINE that we get the idea of a FUNCTION – although we write the function down in a much neater way. In the above example we would write f:x 3(x – 2)
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Gallon A unit of liquid measurement within the Imperial system. There are 8 pints in a gallon and a gallon is approximately equal to ?? litres
Generate Produce – e.g. an equation such as y=2x+3 will generate a series of numbers as you substitute for values of x
Gradient The SLOPE of a line = i.e. the angle at which it rises Example
The GRADIENT is calculated as the distance a line goes UP divided by how far it goes ALONG
3
3
In this case it goes up 3 and along 3, so the GRADIENT is: 3=1 3
Gramme A unit of weight measurement within the metric system. A gramme is approximately equal to ?? Ounces.
Graph A „picture‟ of a set of data – see Bar Chart, Scatter Diagram etc
Greater than > A sign used to indicate which of two items in the larger – e.g. we would write 5 > 3 meaning 5 is greater than 3, or 2 > -4 meaning 2 is greater than –4, or even x – 4 > 6 meaning that x-4 is greater than 6
Greater than or Equal to (≥) A symbol (≥) used to show that an unknown (usually a letter) is BIGGER or EQUAL to a particular number Example: X≥5 This means that x is equal to 5 or BIGGER
Grouping data Collecting data together within given ranges – e.g. you might group age data in bands of, say, -=5, 1-6. 7– 12 years etc
HCF (Highest Common Factor)
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The Highest Common Factor (HCF) of a series of numbers is the largest number which will divide into all of them, without leaving a remainder Example the HCF of 18 and 24 is 6
Height The distance from a base to an apex or vertex (the apex or vertex may be a point on a line)
Height
Height
Base
Base
Hendecagon An eleven sided figure (also called an ENDECAGON)
A hendecagon
Heptagon
A 1 dollar coin issued in America in the 1970’s – but it was not successful – despite being in the shape of a hendecagon
A seven-sided shape (or polygon)
Hexagon A six-sided shape (or polygon)
Hire Purchase A method of buying things, where you pay a certain amount each week/month etc in order to pay for the goods. Example A shop offers the opportunity to buy a three piece suite for £600 cash or £21 per month for 30 months. At £21 per month for 30 months you will pay more
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than the original price of £600 – this extra money is the INTEREST charged to you for being able to pay over a period of time
Histogram A histogram is a graphical display of frequencies. All the bars are next to each other – with no spaces. A histogram is different from a bar chart in that it is the AREA of the bars which illustrates the measure – rather than the height.
Horizontal A line going from left to right on the level (i.e. without being at any angle)
Horizontal comes from the word HORIZON – the line which separates the land/sea from the sky
Hyperbola The curve created by cutting a cone through its base with a plane. Alternatively, the curve created when drawing the graph of Ax2 + Bxy + Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0
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Hypotenuse The line, in a right-angled triangle, which is opposite the right-angle
hypotenuse right angle
Icosahedrons 3 – d object made up of 20 equilateral triangles, which have 30 edges and 12 vertices
Icosahedron
Net of an Icosahedron
Image The new shape created after „operating‟ on an original (called the object) e.g. we might reflect a triangle in a mirror line – the original is called the object and the new triangle is called the image
Imperial measure The „old style‟ system of measuring distance, weight etc. The principle units are ounces, pounds, stones (weight); inches, feet, yards, miles (distance), pints, gallons (liquid measure)
Impossibility If the mathematical probability of an event happening is 0 (zero) this means that it is impossible for the event to happen.. If the probability of the event happening is 1, then it is certain that the event will happen. 0
1
Impossible
Certain
Improper Fraction A fraction where the top number (the NUMERATOR) is larger than the bottom number (The DENOMINATOR)
23 7
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Inch An Imperial Measure of distance. There are 12 inches in a foot and 36 inches in a yard.
Income tax Money paid to the government from earnings. Everybody has a certain amount of money on which they don‟t have to pay tax. A percentage of the remainder of their income is deducted and paid to the government (although some people work out their own tax, or get an accountant to work it out for them).
Increase Make bigger/larger
Independent Event Something which happens „on its own‟ – and is not influenced or dependent on another event – for example tossing a die and getting a number.
Index Notation When writing powers of numbers (i.e. the number of times a number has to be multiplied by itself) we write: 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 25 This way of writing powers is called Index Notation and the small number (in this case the 5) is called the INDEX. The number being raised is called the BASE. When two or more numbers WITH THE SAME BASE are multiplied together we ADD the INDICES Example: 37 x 35 = 35+7 = 312 When we divide two numbers WITH THE SAME BASE we subtract the indices Example 58 divided by 53 = 58-3 = 55
Inequalities An inequality shows a relationship between two quantities – the relationship might show that they are equal, or that one is larger than the other. The symbols used are > (greater than) < (less than) >= (greater than or equal to) <= (less than or equal to) -5 < 4 equal to 2)
3> 2
2x >= 4 (this means that x is greater than or
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Infinite „Forever‟ – a term used to indicate that something doesn‟t end. For example there is no end to the natural numbers – there is no largest number – they are INFINITE
Infinite Decimal A decimal which goes on forever, and doesn‟t end – e.g. if you divide 1/7 you get 0.14285714285714 ....... and this decimal goes on forever – it is INFINITE
Input/Output Terms often used in the context of computers – you enter (INPUT) data into the system (or formula), it is processed (a calculation is carried out) and you get OUTPUT – otherwise known as the answer
Inscribe Draw inside – for example draw a circle inside a triangle:
Installment If you take out a finance agreement to buy something, you will pay it back at regular intervals – and each payment is called an INSTALMENT
Integer Any whole number – -34, 4, 6, 12345 etc
Intercept Where a line crosses (intercepts) an axis in a graph – either the X or Y axis
y-intercept
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Interest The money you receive, in addition to the amount invested, when you invest money – for example in a savings account Example You invest £200 at 5% for 1 year At the end of the year you would receive your £200 back PLUS 5% of 200 = £10 INTEREST – making £210 in all
Interior angles The angles on the „inside‟ of a closed shape
d e
c
a
b
Interpolation Inserting terms in a sequence which are missing – using the rule for the sequence Example Take the sequence
2
4
6
...
...
...
14
16
18
The rule is clearly „add 2‟ – so we can INTERPOLATE the missing numbers using the rule, to get:
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Interquartile Range Quartiles divide a set of data into four – with 25% of the data less than the LOWER QUARTILE and 75% of the data being less than the UPPER QUARTILE The INTERQUARTILE RANGE is simply UPPER QUARTILE – LOWER QUARTILE
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Intersection, point of The point where two or more lines cross
Intersecting lines Two lines which cross. Opposite angles are always equal where two straight line cross
Inverse The „opposite‟ - e.g. if I add 3 to a number the inverse operation would be to subtract 3 (and I would get back to where I started from!)
Inverse Proportion In non-mathematical terms this might be said “the more one thing happens, the less another does” Example Suppose we have a rectangle with sides of 4 and 6 – then the area will be 4 x 6 = 26 If we want to draw another rectangle with the same area, but double the length of one of the sides, say, 12, then we need to reduce the length of the other side by a half (2) to keep the area the same
Interval
Here the interval is 5 the difference between each pair of numbers
Usually, the gap between values. For example when creating graph of a function you would choose the gap (interval) between values against which to plot the graph:
The intervals here are 2 – the difference between two each pair of values
Investment When money is loaned to a company (e.g. when you buy shares in the company) you hope to get back more money than you put in!. This way of making money is called an INVESTMENT
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Irrational numbers Irrational numbers are numbers which cannot be written as fractions, such as pi and Ö2. In decimal form these numbers go on forever and the same pattern of digits are not repeated.
Isometric A type of drawing which shows objects in three dimensions
Isometric paper Paper on which dots or lines are printed in „diamond‟ formation. The paper is particularly useful for drawing 3-dimensional objects
Isosceles triangle A triangle which has two sides equal and two angles equal
Base angles equal Two sides equal a
a
Key A guide to what symbols on a diagram or graph mean – e.g. you might use stick-men on a scatter diagram, so you need to say (in the key) what each stick-man stands for
Kilo The prefix to a word which means 1000 – e.g. kilogram – 1000 grams; kilometre – 1000 metres
Kilogram A measure of weight equivalent to 1000 grams
Kite A quadrilateral with two pairs of adjacent sides equal.
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Laws of Indices These are the rules which tell you how to multiply and divide numbers written as indices WHICH HAVE THE SAME BASE Multiplication – ADD THE INDICES
56 x 53 = 56+3 = 59 Division – SUBTRACT THE INDICES
85 ÷ 82 = 85-2 = 83 LCM (Lowest Common Multiple) The smallest number into which two or more number will divide, without leaving a remainder. For example, the LCM of 12 and 18 is 36
Leap Year A year which occurs every four years and which has 366 days I it, as against the 365 days in a „normal‟ year. Leap years all have year numbers where the last two digits are divisible by 4 – e.g. 1896, 1900, 1904, 1956, 200 were all Leap Years.
Length A one-dimensional measure, usually along a line – e.g. 6cm
Less than < A symbol used to show that of two quantities – one is larger than the other. The larger quantity is always on the right of the symbol 5 < 12
-2 < 1
1<4
-5 < -3
Less than or Equal to (≤) A symbol used to show that of two quantities – one is larger or equal to the other. The smaller quantity is always on the left of the symbol
3x + 1 ≤ 7 means EITHER 3x + 1 < 7 or 3x + 1 = 7 LHS (Left Hand Side) Usually refers to the left-hand side of an equation – and often said in a sentence like “whatever you do to the left-hand side of an equation, you must do exactly the same to the right-hand side”
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Like Terms Parts of an equation or expression which are essentially the same – e.g. in the expression 5a2 + 3ab – 2a2 + 6c2 + 7ab – the 5a2 and –2a2 are like terms and the 3ab and 7ab are also like terms
Likely/unlikely An unmathematical way of describing the probability of an event happening – always between 0 and 1 in probability terms
Line of best fit On a scatter graph, a straight (or sometimes curved) line which goes „through‟ the dots and creates the best path through the dots.
Line of symmetry A line (often dotted) which divides a shape so that one side of the line is a mirror image of the other side.
3
Line graph, straight The graph of equations of the form y=mx+c is a straight line.
2 1 -2
-1
1
2
-1 -2
Linear equation An equation of the form y=mx+c where m is the coefficient of x and c is the constant. Examples include y=3x-6; y = 7-5x. The reason it is called a linear equation is because the graph of the equation is a straight line.
Here we have the graph of the linear equation y = 2x + 3
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Linear Graph A graph which is a straight line and is drawn form a LINEA EQUATION (se above)
Litre The main metric measure of liquid volume – with all other measures being derived form the basic word – millilitre, centilitre etc
Loci The locus (plural loci) is a path which a point or line travels when you make a rule. For example the locus of a point which stays the same distance form a fixed point – is a circle
.
.
. .
.
The path travelled b a point which stays a constant distance from a fixed point
. .
Long division The process of dividing one number by another number, without using a calculator.
Lower Quartile (Q1)
The Lower Quartile of a set of data is (n + 1) ÷ 4th value Example What is the Lower Quartile of the data: 21, 15, 3, 7, 9, 10, 4, 2, 6, 1, 15 First put them in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7,9, 10, 15, 15, 21 The Lower Quartile is given by: (11 + 1) ÷ 4 = 3rd value, which is 3
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Lowest terms We use the expression „lowest terms‟ often when we are working with fractions – and want the numbers as small as possible, by cancelling down (finding numbers which will divide into top and bottom. The lowest terms is reached when there is no number which will divide into top and bottom.
Magic Square A magic square is one in which all the numbers in any line (vertical, horizontal, diagonal – add up to the same number
8
3
4
1
5
9
6
7
2
In this magic square each row, column and diagonal adds up to 15
Map/Map Scales A scale „picture‟ of a real place (or places) - with actual distances on the ground being shown as smaller scaled images on paper. Most maps show the scale of the „paper picture‟ to the „real objects‟ - with, for example. 1:50000 means that 1cm on the „paper picture‟ corresponds to 50000 cm on the „ground.
Mass
Maps come in a wide variety of scales – the smaller the number on the right the greater the small detail shown on the map – for example a map with a scale of 1:50000 will have 50000 inches represented by just one inch on the map
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Mean The technical term for Average – calculated by adding up all the numbers and then dividing by the number of numbers. Take the numbers: 3
12
5
7
9
11
2
Adding them together gives us 49 There are 7 numbers, so the mean is 49/7 = 7
Median A measure of the „range‟ of a set of data. It is calculated by putting all the numbers in order (it doesn‟t matter whether the order is ascending or descending) and then finding the middle number – this is the median. If the number of numbers is even, find the two „middle numbers‟ add them together and divide by 2 to get the median Example: Data is 27 12 5 17 35 then, in order, this is: 5 12 17 27 35 and the Median is the middle number – 17
Metre The basic metric measure of distance (and where the word metric comes from!). All other distances come form this basic root – millimetre, kilometre etc
Metric system The system of measurement which uses grammes, metres etc.
Mile A measurement of distance within the Imperial system. There are 1,760 yards in a mile and a mile is approximately equal to 1.6 kilometres
Milli A measure of size in the METRIC SYSTEM – e.g. milligram, millimetre, millilitre – milli means one thousandths – so there are for example 1000 milligrams in a gram
Milligram A units of measurement within the metric system. There are 1000 milligrams in a gramme.
Millilitre There are 1000 millilitres in a litre
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Millimetre A unit of measurement within the metric system. There are 1000 millimetres in a metre.
Millilitre 1000th of a litre – I.e. 1000 millilitres = 1 litre
Minimum Value The smallest value which an equation, expression or graph can achieve. In graphical terms it is usually where the curve is at its lowest.
Here we can see that the minimum value is -10
Minute A measure of time – there are 60 minutes in an HOUR
Mirror line An imaginary line drawn through a shape which divide the shape so that the image on one side of the line is a mirror image of the shape on the other side of the line.
The mirror line
Mixed number A number which has a whole part and a fraction part For example: 5½ is mixed 5 is the whole part and ½ the fraction
Mode A measure of the „shape‟ of a set of data. The Mode of a set of data is the most frequently occurring number
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Take the set of data: 2
5
7
12
3
2
6
8
2
17
The MODE of this set of data is 2
Möebius Strip
Take a strip of paper and twist one end through 1800 and attach this end to the other end of the strip – and you have a Moebius Band. The strange thing about the Moebius band is that it only has one side – if you put a pencil on any part of the band and draw along the strip you will eventually come back to where you started – without having taken you pencil off the paper!
Mode One of the AVERAGES used to describe a set of data The MODE is simply the most frequently occurring piece of data Example 3
4
7
3
9
1 4
6
3
9
0
In the above set of data the MEAN is 3 because it is the most frequent number
Multiplication A shorter way than repeated addition. E.g. we could add 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 but since there are 7 5‟s we say 7 x 5 = 35 – I.e. we multiply 5 by 7
Multiples The numbers which are multiples of a given number – e.g. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 and so on are all multiples of 4. You will alos know these series of numbers as your multiplication tables!
Mutually Exclusive Events Two or more events are mutually exclusive if the both CANNOT occur – e.g. if you toss a coin you cannot get BOTH a Head and a tail. However, if you threw a die you could get a number which was even AND larger that 3 – e.g. 4, so these two events (evenness and larger than 3) are NOT mutually exclusive.
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Natural Numbers The NATURAL NUMBERS are the COUNTING NUMBERS – 1, 2, 3, 4, ..... Zero is not usually included as a Natural Number – although there is no complete agreement on whether it should be included or not!
Nth term Suppose we have a sequence of numbers as follows: 1
3
5
7
9
11
13 …….
It is straightforward to see that the next one will be 15, the next 17, the next 19 and so on But we need to be able to have a general expression for any term in the sequence, and this expression is called the nth term So in the example above we have an equation which says that Nth term is 2n-1 And when we substitute for n=1, n=2, n=3 etc we get the series
Negative number All numbers less than zero (0). If you add the positive digit part of a negative number to the negative number you always get 0 – e.g. if we take –45 and add the digit part (45) we get –45+45 = 0
Nets The flattened two-dimensional shapes which when folded make 3 dimensional solids
The net of a cuboid
Nonagon A nine-sided polygon A regular nonagon has internal angles which total 7 x 1800 = 12600 Which gives us the internal angle as 1260/9 = 1400
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Normal The NORMAL to a curve at a particular point is a line at right-angles to the tangent to the curve at that point Normal
Normal Distribution In Statistics this is a measure of how a set of results are spread around a central point – i.e. the MEAN. In a simple version of the distribution the results show a symmetrical distribution around the mean – and the shape of the graph is a bell (so, the curve is often called a „Bell Curve‟). The way in which the results are distributed around the peak (the top of the bell curve) is called the Standard Deviation.
Number line A line used to help work with positive and negative numbers. The line has the positive numbers to the right, the negative numbers to the left and the number zero (0) in the middle
Number sequence A series of numbers which is linked by a rule – e.g. 3, 7, 11, 15 ….. Has the rule „add 4‟
Numerator The number on top of a fraction – e.g. in the fraction 4/7 – the number 4 is the NUMERATOR
Object The shape of „thing‟ which are going to operate on – e.g. we might have the drawing of a square and we are going to move it (translate it) to another position – the original square is called the object, and the square in its new position is called the image.
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Oblong Another (and non-mathematical) name for a rectangle
Object/image If, you enlarge an shape (say a triangle) then this is called the object. The result of the enlargement is called the image.
object
image
Obtuse angle
A angle which is greater than 900 and less than 1800
d
d is an obtuse angle
Octagon An eight sided polygon. An octagon with all sides and angles equal is called a REGULAR OCTAGON
Octahedron A 3D solid with 8 sides made up of 8 equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex
Octahedron
Net of Octahedron
Odd number Any whole number which cannot be divided by 2 without leaving a remainder â&#x20AC;&#x201C; e.g. 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17â&#x20AC;Ś...
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Ogive The graph you get when you join the points in a CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVE
Opposite angles Angles which are opposite one another in a shape or diagram – in cases where the opposite angles are as a result of two line crossing, the angles are equal.
a
a
The angles a are equal
Order 1 The order of an equation or expression is the largest power present in the equation/expression For example The expression 3x6 – 5x3 + 2x2 – 8x + 9 is of power 6 because this is largest power of x
Order 2 To order a series of numbers means to put them in a sequence where each one is larger (or smaller) than the one before – called Ascending and Descending For example the following numbers are in Ascending order: 3.1, 3.15, 4.01, 4.1, 5.23, 5.27
Order of rotational symmetry The number of times a shape will „fit‟ onto itself when it is rotated through 3600
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Ordered Pairs Simple two numbers, written together – e.g. (2,3). They are called ORDERED PAIRS because the order matters so (2,3) ≠ (3,2)
Ordered pairs are plotted with the first number being along the X AXIS and the second along the Y AXIS
Origin The point where the X and Y axes cross (in, for example a graph). The point is usually (0,0) Y
.(0,0)
X
Ounce An IMPERIAL MEASURE of weight. There are 16 ounces (oz) in a POUND (lb)
Outcome (usually) The result of carrying out a series of experiments – often associated with trying to work out the probability of an event happening.
Oval Another name for an ELLIPSE
Palindromic Number A number which reads the same forwards and backwards – e.g. 1234321 NOTE: If you take that last digit of each of the first 9 square numbers and put them together – they form a palindromic number
1
4
9
16
25
36
49
64
81
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Parabola The curve created when the graph of a quadratic equation is plotted, or the shape created when you slice a cone through its slope and down to the base:
Parallel lines Line which do not meet (or which are the same distance apart forever!) and are usually shown as parallel with one or more „ticks‟ on them:
Parallelogram A quadrilateral which has opposite sides equal and parallel (NOTE: the opposite angles are also equal)
Parallelogram, area of (See Area of parallelogram)
Pascal’s triangle The sequence of numbers (often drawn as a triangle) which show the coefficients of the variable in the expansion on (1+x)n
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Pentagon A five-sided figure (or polygon).
Percentage The number of 1/100ths (as expressed as a fraction) - e.g. 25% means 25/100 = 1/4
Percentage change The amount (measured as a percentage) by which an amount (e.g. the price of an article) goes up or down – e.g. if an item cost £100 and was re-priced as £120 there would have been a 20% change (upwards!)
Percentage profit The amount of profit (measured as a percentage) made by someone selling goods or services – e.g. is a television is bought for £200 and sold for £250 they there has been a 50/200 x 100 = 25% profit
Perimeter The distance around the outside of an object – e.g. around a square it is the sum of the lengths of the sides – as is the perimeter of a rectangle
5.5
5.5
5
5
Perimeter = 5 + 5 + 5.5 + 5.5 + 6 = 27
6
Perpendicular
Or vertical as it is often called. A line which is at 900 to the horizontal
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Perpendicular Bisector A line which cuts exactly in half another line – an at right angles to the line Perpendicular bisector
Pictogram A chart which uses small pictures to show how data.
Pie chart A pictorial representation of data in the form of a circle with „slices‟ cut out of it to show the proportions. BBC CH4 BBC2 ITV
Pint
An IMPERIAL MEASURE of liquid. 8 pints equal 1 gallon
Place Value Every digit in both whole numbers and decimals has its own individual value – called its place value. The value of a digit is a power of 10 Example the value of the integer 7 in the number 6783 is 700 and the value of the integer 7 in the number 34.076 is 7/100
Plan The view looking down on a three-dimensional object
Plane (mathematical) A plane can be thought of as a 2-dimensional sheet (say of paper). Often such a plane will be used to cut a 3-dimensional object, as in the case of the cone:
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Plane of Symmetry A „slice‟ through a 3-dimensional object so that the two „halves‟ are identical
Platonic Solids The name comes from the mathematician and philosopher PLATO. There are five of them:
pm Meaning post-meridian pm indicates times between 12 noon and midnight
Points of the compass The main four points are North, South, East, West and these are, clockwise from North South – 1800; East – 900; West – 2700
Polyhedron The general term given to geometric 3 dimensional shapes (examples of polyhedra include DODECAHEDRON, TETRAHEDRON .....
Polygon, irregular Any polygons which doesn‟t have all its sides and angles equal.
Examples of regular polygons
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Polygon, regular A polygon )many-sided shape) which has all sides equal and all angle equal
An irregular pentagon
Polygon The general name given to any closed shape – e.g. square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon etc are all examples of polygons
Polynomial Function Poly means „many‟ so a polynomial function means any function which is made up of variables and constants and the operations of addition, subtraction and multiplication and whole number powers For example 5x2 – 3x + 9 is a polynomial, but 3x2 – 4/x + x2/3 isn‟t because the constant 4 is divided by the variable x and the power (or exponent) of x is 3/2 – not a whole number
Population The complete set of people or things which we sample. For example the population could be all the pupils in a class, the coloured balls in a bag, all the people who live in Liverpool
Positive number All numbers greater than 0. Every positive number has an „opposite‟ such that when you add the positive number to its opposite you get 0 (zero). This „opposite‟ is called the negative of the number. For example the „opposite‟ of 3.25 is –3.25 because when you add them together you get 0
Pound 1.
A measure of weight in the IMPERIAL SYSTEM of measures 1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces (oz)
2.
A unit of money (£)
Power The number of times a number is to be multiplied by itself – shown as a small superscript number – e.g. 53 means multiply the number 5 by itself 3 time – 5 x 5 x 5 = 125
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Prime Factor A number which will divide into another number – which is also a PRIME NUMBER The first seven PRIME NUMBERS ARE 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17
Prime numbers Numbers which cannot be divided by ant other numbers apart form themselves and 1 – the prime numbers up to 100 are are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97
Prime Factor Decomposition The prime factors are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17 and so on. Any number can be written as a series of prime factors multiplied by each other (some factors may be repeated) Example: 24 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 and 100 = 2 x 2 x 5 x 5
Priority of operations The order in which mathematical operations are to be carried out – often remembered by the acronym BODMAS – Brackets, Over, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction
Prisms A three-dimensional object which has the same cross-section throughout its length
A triangular prism
Prism, volume of The volume of a prism = area of cross section x length
Probability The likelihood (or chance) of an event happening is called the probability of the event happening. For example a pack of cards has 52 cards – A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K And 4 suits = Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades So, for example, there are 4 Aces, 4 twos, 4 threes etc
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Therefore the probability of getting an ace is 4/52 = 1/13 (when cancelled down)
Probability scale A measure of probability – usually a line with 0 at one end (impossible) and 1 at the other end (certain) along which every event must lie
Probability of an event The likelihood of an event happening defined as number of „successes Possible number of outcomes
Proper/improper fraction A proper fraction is one where the numerator (the top number) is smaller than the denominator (the bottom number). – so 5/12 is a proper fraction whereas 21/5 is an improper fraction 3/7 is a proper fraction 12/7 is an improper fraction
Proportion Two quantities are in proportion if they increase (or decrease) at a similar rate (or ratio as it is called). For example 3 pints of blue and 1 pint of white paint will make enough paint to paint two walls of a square room. In order to paint all four walls we need to double the amount of blue and the amount of white paint – 6pints of blue and 2 pints of white paint.
Protractor An instrument, often semi-circular for measuring and drawing angles
Pyramid A three dimensional object which has a flat base of three or four sides and an apex to which flat, triangular. Sides rise form the base. A p[pyramid with a triangular base is also called a tetrahedron.
The entrance to the Louvre museum in Paris is a square-based pyramid
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Pythagoras’ Theorem The theorem which states that “The square on n the hypotenuse of a rightangled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides”
As an equation Pythagoras‟
h
b
Theorem states: h2 = a2 + b2
a Pythagorean Triples In a right-angled triangle (according to PYTHAGORAS):
a2 = b2 + c2 Where a is the hypotenuse When all three numbers are INTEGERS the three numbers are called PYTHAGOREAN TRIPLES (because it you draw a triangle with the sides of these lengths – it will be a right-angled one!) Examples
a 7
b 24
c 25
b c 15 17
a 12
b 35
c 37
a 9
b 40
c 41
15 112 113
16 63 65
20
21
29
28
45
53
28 195 197
33 56 65
44
17
125
48
55
73
60 91
65 72 97
133 156 205
109
a 8
140 171 221
In all the cases of the triples above a2 + b2 = c2 Quadrant A quarter of a whole – e.g. the section which has only the positive/positive co-ordinates, the quadrant which has the positive/negative co-ordinates etc
Quadratic Equation An equation where the highest power is 2
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Examples
5x2 + 3x – 2 = 0
8x2 + 2 = 0
7-5x2 = 0
Quadrilateral Any four-sided figure – examples are square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezium, kite.
Examples of quadrilaterals Qualitative A feature of a person or object which cannot be (easily) measured – e.g. beautiful. elegant
Quantitative A feature of a person or object which can be measured – height, weight etc
Quartile There are three quartiles which divide sorted data into four equal parts The first quartile (lower quartile) cuts off the bottom 25% of the data The second quartile is the Median and cuts the data in two The third quartile (upper quartile) cuts of the bottom 75% or highest 25% of the data
Questionnaire A form used to record information (often from questions asked!).
Quotient The result of dividing one umber by another – e.g. if we divide 12 by 3 we get the answer 4 – which is the quotient
Radius The distance between the centre of a circle and the circumference
Radius)
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Random An event which happen without any planning or outside influence – often used to indicate a trial where there outcome is unknown (e.g. throwing a die)
Random Sample When a survey is being conducted it is, usually, impossible to survey the entire population you are interested in – so you take a representative and random sample. This means sampling things or people who have been chosen randomly, without any pattern to their choice.
Range The range of set of numbers is the difference between the largest and smallest number
Ratio A means of sharing things – e.g. sweets might be shared in the ration of 3:2 – this means that there are 5 shares (3+2) and one person will get 3 shares and the other person 2 shares
Rational numbers A rational number is a number which can be written as a fraction where numerator and denominator are integers (where the top and bottom of the fraction are whole numbers). For example 1/2, 4, 1.75 (=7/4).
Raw Data Data which has simply been collected (for instance ion questionnaires) and not yet been collated or analysed.
Rectangle, area of The area of a rectangle is length x breadth W
Rectangle
Area = W x B
B
A quadrilateral which has opposite sides equal and all angles equal to 90 0 The external angles of a rectangle are each equal to 900 – making their total 3600
Reciprocal The reciprocal of a number is that number turned upside down – e.g. the reciprocal of 2/3 is 3/2 and the reciprocal of 7 is 1/7
Recurring Decimal A recurring decimal is one which has a number, or set of numbers, repeating after the decimal point – e.g. 1/9 = 0.111111111and 1/7 = 0.142857142857142857
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Rectangular Prism A prism with a cross section of a rectangle Volume of prism = (2a + 3) x a x 3a 3a Surface area of prism = 2 ((2a + 3) x a)) + 2(a x 3a) + 2((2a + 3) x 3a))
a
Reflection
2a + 3
The image of a shape as seen in a mirror (or an imaginary, drawn mirror
Reflex angle
An angle which is greater than 1800 and less than 3600
f
Regular (as in polygon) All the sides and angles are the same
A square
A regular octagon
A regular hexagon
An equilateral triangle
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Remainder What is left over after you have carried out an operation. For example if you were adding 37 and 59 you would start with 7 + 9 and get 16. This is one TEN and 6 left over (REMAINDER) – the 6 would go in the answer and the 1 would be carried
Resultant of Two Vectors The resultant of two vectors is diagonal of a parallelogram drawn using the two vectors as adjacent sides
F1 and F2 are the vectors and Fnet is the resultant
Revolution The verb to revolve means to go around; so a REVOLUTION is a complete circle. A revolution takes place around a central point – the AXIS OF REVOLUTION – rather like the axel on a car wheel
The blades of a wind turbine REVOLVE around the spindle in the centre
Rhombus A four-sided figure (quadrilateral) with all sides equal and opposite angles equal (NOTE: all the angles in a rhombus are NOT equal)
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RHS (Right Hand Side) Usually refers to the right-hand side of an equation – and remembering that what you do to the RHS you must do the same to the LHS
Right Angle
An angle of exactly 900
Right-angles triangles
A triangle which has one angle of 900. The side opposite the right-angle is called the hypotenuse
hypotenuse
Right Prism A three-dimensional object whose cross-section is the same all the way through Examples
Some examples of right prisms – take a cross-section parallel to the base and the cross section will be the same all the way „through‟ the shape
Unorthodox shapes such as this „house‟ are also right-prisms
The VOLUME of a right prisms is:
Area of the cross-section x length Roman Numerals A way of writing numbers which is said to go back to the Romans (hence the name!)
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Examples
1 I
2 II
3 4 5 III IV V
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV
Root A number which, when multiplied by itself a given number of times will equal a given number Example the square root of 16 is 4 because 4 x 4 = 16 The third root of 8 is 2 because 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 The square root of a number is written as (for example) v16 = 4
Rotation The „turning‟ of a shape, often by a given number of degrees – e.g. a shape might be rotated by 900, or 1800 etc
Rotational symmetry The number of times a shape will „fit‟ onto itself when it is rotated
Rotation symmetry, order of The number of times a shape will „fit‟ onto itself as it is rotated.
a e
b
d
This (regular) pentagpn has order of rotational symmetry 5 – you can turn it through 720 each time and it will occupy the same space
c This parallelogram has order of rotational symmetry 2 – you can turn it through 1800 and it occupies its original position
Rounding „Tidying up‟ a number to a pre-determined level of accuracy – e.g. we might round 199 to 200, or 4.003 to 4
Rule A set of steps which have been laid down and which have to be followed in a particular sequence – e.g. “take a number, double it, add 3 and divide by 2”. Often a rule is given in short-hand by a formula
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Scale A measure used to represent something which is larger by something which is smaller: Map scales tell you what the relationship is between distance on the ground and distance on the map 1:100000 means on cm on the map represents 100000 cm on the ground Model cars may be made to, say, a scale of 1:40 – meaning that they are exactly the same as the real thing – but 1/40 of the size!
Scale drawing A smaller drawing of an actual (and much bigger) object – e.g. the plans of your house!
Scale factor The amount by which a shape has been increased or decreased in size. If the number is greater than 1 this means that the shape has been made larger; if the number is less than 1 the shape is made smaller. If the number is equal to 1 the shape remains the same.
Scalene triangle A triangle which has all sides all angles of different sizes.
Scatter diagrams
Number of weeds
A diagram showing two sets of different data – e.g. the amount of homework done by pupils and their success in examinations, which allows a comparison between the two sets of data Graph showing the number of weeds in the garden and the number of children in the family
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Scientific Notation Another name for STANDARD FORM
Second 1. One sixtieth of a minute in time – i.e. there are 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute 2. One sixtieth of a minute in circular measure – there are 3600 in a circle, sixty minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute.
The two types of measure are not connected
Sector The yellow area is called a SECTOR. The part of the CIRCUMFERENCE of the circle which is on the edge of the sector is called an ARC
Segment A portion of a circle bounded by two points on the circumference
Semicircle
A SEMICIRCLE is half a circle – bounded by a DIAMETER
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Sequence A series of numbers which are „related‟ to one another by a rule – e.g. the numbers 2 4 8 16 32 are related by the rule “multiply by 2”
Similar Figures Two (or more) shapes which have EXACTLY THE SAME SHAPE but DIFFERENT SIZE. In maths terms they have the same size angles but different length sides
Simple Interest The amount of extra money you get when you invest money – and when you don‟t get interest on the interest (which you do with COMPOUND INTEREST) The formula for working out Simple Interest is PxTxR 100 where P in the amount, T is the Time in years and R is the rate of interest (as a percentage) Example £2000 invested at 3% simple interest for 5 years would earn: 2000 x 5 x 3 = 30000 = £300 in interest 100 so you would have 2000 + 300 = £2300
Simplest form Simplest form is the name given to a (usually) fraction which cannot be cancelled down any further For example 8/12 can be cancelled down to 2/3 (by dividing top and bottom by 4) – but it can‟t be cancelled any further, so is in simplest form
Simplifying Making an expression, fraction etc as simple as possible – b collecting together terms, or cancelling down (in the case of fractions)
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e.g. 3x + 5y – 2y + 7x – y + 8x can be simplified to 18x + 2y and 18/24 can be simplified to 3/2 by dividing top and bottom by 6
Simultaneous Equations Two linear equations which have a common solution. For example the equations 5x + 2y = 16 and 3x – y = 3 have the solution x = 2 and y = 3
Sine Take any angle in a RIGHT-ANGLED TRIANGLE; the sine of that angle is the ratio of the OPPOSITE SIDE side to the HYPOTENUSE Sin a = opposite hypotenuse
hypotenuse opposite a
Sine Rule
adjacent
A collection of expressions which allow you to work out the angles of a triangle, using the sines of the angles and the lengths of sides
a = b = c sinA sinB SinC
Solution The value(s) which, when substituted in an equation, makes the equation true – e.g. the solution to 2x + 3 = 9 is x = 3 because when we replace the x with the value 3 the equation is tru
Sphere A three-dimensional object which has a cross-section always of a circle
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Standard Form A way of writing very large or very small numbers using index notation (powers of 10) – e.g. 56000000 can be written 5.6 x 107 and 0.0000000056 can be written 5.6 x 10-9 IMPORTANT NOTE – the number used (in this case 5.6 must itself be between 1 and 10
Stem and Leaf Diagrams A way of grouping data into classes – particularly useful since the original data can still be seen Example: the original data is shown below 154, 143, 148, 139, 143, 147, 153, 162, 136, 147, 144, 143, 139, 142, 143, 156, 151, 164, 157, 149, 146 NOTE: the data is first of all organised into classes of equal width – in this case 5 (136 – 139 etc). Then the diagram is simplified to look as follows
Subject, change of Making a particular unknown (x, y etc) the subject of an equation means putting it (the unknown) on its own on the left-hand side of the equation, with everything else on the other side. Then the unknown will be the subject of the equation. Example suppose we have y = 3x + 7. In this case y is the subject. Suppose we want to change it so that x is the subject. We will get x = (y – 7)/3 – and here x is the subject.
Substitution Substitution is what you do when you replace a VARIABLE or UNKNOWN with a value ( a number) Example We have an expression 5x + 3y When we SUBSTITUTE x = 2 and y = 4 we get this expression equal to 22
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Surd A way of writing square roots, without actually working them out Examples
2
15
8
32
200
None of these numbers has an INTEGER (whole number) square root. However, we can write them (or some of them) in terms of simpler roots:
8 2 2
32 4 2
200 10 2
This way of writing square roots is called write them in SURD form. This format allows the solution of problems without trying to work out square roots which do not have an exact answer (e.g. the square root of 2)
Surface Area The collected areas of the outside faces/area of a shape: Examples:
Surface area is 6 x the area of a side (all the sides have the same area)
Surface area is: 2 x area of the sides + 2 x area of the tops + 2 x area of the front
Symmetrical See Line of symmetry
Significant figure The digits to the right of any 0 (zero) in a number - e.g. 123 has 3 significant figures; 0.0034 has two significant figures
Solids A three-dimensional object. The most common ones are: Tetrahedron, Square-based pyramid; Cone; Cylinder; Cube; Cuboid, Hexagonal prism……………..
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Solving (equations) Finding the value of variable(s) in an equation which make the equation true (solve it) - e.g. for the equation 3x + 2 = 8 if we put x = 2 in it we get x 2 + 2 = 8 and so the solution to the equation is x = 2
Square
A quadrilateral having all sides equal and all angles equal (to 900)
Square numbers The sequence of numbers obtained by multiplying the whole numbers by themselves. The first 6 square numbers are 1 x 1 = 1; 2 x 2 = 4; 3 x 3 = 9; 4 x 4 = 16; 5 x 5 = 25 NOTE: Square numbers get their name from the fact that they are the areas of squares which have whole number (integer) length sides
4cm
The area of this square ios 4 x 4 = 16cm2
4cm
Square root Given any number the square root is the number which, when multiplied by itself will equal the given number â&#x20AC;&#x201C; e.g. given the number 64 the square root is 8 because 8 x 8 = 64 If we know that the area of this square is 49cm2 then we can work out the length of the sides (which are all the same) by working out the square root of the area = 7cm
Statistics A branch of mathematics which is concerned with presenting and analysing data with a view to understanding or presenting it better. E.g. a set of data can be described by using measures such as Mean, Mode, Median and data can be illustrated using bar and pie charts
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Straight line
There are 1800 in a straight line. You can solve problems using this piece of information – in the diagram below, if we know that one angle is 1450 we can work out the other to be 350 by subtracting the 1450 from 1800
1450
350
Substitution The process of replacing letters in an equation or expression with numbers, often to find out an answer. If we have an expression such as 5x + 3y and we substitute x = 3 and y = 4 we get: 5 x 3 + 3 x 4 = 27
Subscript A number of letter which appear to the right of another number of letter, but smaller and a little lower. We write chemical formulae using subscripts – e.g. H2SO4 – the 2 and 4 are subscripts
Superscript A letter or number which appear to the right of another letter or number but smaller and higher. Superscripts are used to denote powers – e.g. 52 means 5 x5
Symmetry, line of An artificial line which has a perfect mirror image of an object (or part of an object) on each side of the line
b
a
a
b
NOTE that the image on the right is an exact copy of the image on the left – but „back to front‟. NOTE: also that each point on one image has a corresponding point on the other image – exactly the same distance from the line of symmetry
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Tally marks Ticks you write down to help you when you are counting – e.g. if you were to count the number of different coloured cars passing you,. You would have a list of the possible colours and put a tick against a colour every time a car passed. It is usual to put down four ticks and then cross them through with the fifth tick, to form „five-barred gates‟ - it helps to count the ticks.
Tally-table The table on which you record the data collected on a questionnaire or other data collection form.
Sweets
Above is a tally table showing the preferences of children for food at lunch time
Tangent A tangent at a point of a curve is a straight line which just touches the curve at one point
Term The name given to letters in (for example) equations – e.g. 3x, 4t, 2d are all terms
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Term, nth See nth term
Terminating Decimal A decimal which „finishes, with a digit – rather than going on. For example 0.35, 0.206 and 0.22 are all terminating decimals, whereas 0.333333, 0.11111 are non-repeating decimals
Tessellation Another word for „tiling‟ - a method of „cutting up‟ as space using the same shape – e.g. you can tile a wall with squares, hexagons, parallelograms but not with pentagons, octagons etc Some examples are:
As can be seen from the tessellation on the right – tiles don‟t have to be boring or of the conventional square, triangle etc – but they must cover the area without leaving spaces
Tetra Meaning 4 – as in „tetrahedron‟ - a four-sided solid
Tetrahedron A four-sided solid (similar to a pyramid – although a pyramid has a square base)
Theorem
A mathematical statement which has been proved – e.g. Pythagoras‟ Theorem.
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Transformation The movement of an object so as to change its side, position or orientation
Translation The movement of an object in a straight (or series of straight) lines
Image Object Trapezium A quadrilateral which has one pair of opposite sides parallel
Trapezium, area of a
h
b Area = 1/2 x h(a + b)
Travel graph A travel graph shows the pattern of movement during a journey. The axes, typically, will be Time and Distance.
Tree Diagrams Tree diagrams can be a useful way of showing a series of outcomes and helping to work out probabilities.
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For example, if we have a box with two red, two green and two white balls in it, and we choose two balls without looking, what is the probability of getting two balls of the same colour? P(same color) = P(RR or GG or WW) We use the tree diagram to the left to help us identify the possible combinations of outcomes. Here we see that there are nine possible outcomes, listed to the right of the tree diagram
Trial and improvement The technique of solving equations by substituting a ‟guess‟ into the equation and refining (improving) the guess so as to get nearer and nearer to the solution.
Triangle
A three-sided polygon whose internal angles add up to 1800. There are four types of triangle – Scalene, Isosceles, Equilateral, Right-angled (see also under the names of individual triangles)
Scalene
Isosceles
Equilateral
Right-angled
Triangular numbers A series of numbers which come from stacking (for example) objects in a triangular format:
.
1
. .
.
3
. . .
. . 6
.
. . . .
. . .
. .
.
10
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The first stack has 1 object, the next stack has two rows and three objects, the next stack has 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. The first 6 triangular numbers are: 1; 1 + 2 = 3; 1 + 2 + 3 = 6; 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10; 1+ 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15; 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21
Triangular Prism A prism which has a triangular cross-section (the one below is an Iscocels triangular prism): The volume of the triangular prism is: ½bxhxl Surface area of the prism is: A = bxh + 2 x l x s + l x b
Trigonometric Functions There are loads of trigonometric functions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so we will just introduce a few of the early ones you will meet. All these functions are related to angles between two lines, usually in a right-angled triangle. The initials functions are: Sin A = opposite hypotenuse
=a h
Cos A =
adjacent = b hypotenuse h
Tan A =
opposite adjacent
= a b
The extension to these functions is given in the table below (the angle measures are in radians)
Sine
sin
Cosine
cos
Tangent
tan (or tg)
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Cosecant
csc (or cosec)
Secant
sec
Cotangent
cot (or ctg or ctn)
Turn A movement in a circle (or part of a circle). Movement can be clockwise (in the direction in which the hands of a clock move) or anti-clockwise. A complete turn is 3600; a half-turn is 1800 and a quarter turn is 900
Turn, full
A rotation of 3600
Turn, Half
A rotation of 1800 (in clockwise or anti-clockwise direction)
Turn, quarter
A rotation of 900 (in clockwise or anti-clockwise direction)
Unit The name given to a measurement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; e.g. cm, inches, metres, millimetres and so on.
Upper Quartile Test Cumulative Frequency Scores Frequency 76-80
3
3
81-85
7
10
86-90
6
16
91-95
4
20
The total frequency is 20. The quartile information for this data is: Lower Quartile
0.25 ¡ 20 =
5 The lower quartile falls
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in the interval 81 - 85. Median Quartile 0.50 · 20 = 10 The median quartile falls in the interval 81 - 85. Upper Quartile 0.75 · 20 = 15 The upper quartile falls in the interval 86 - 90.
Variable A part of an equation or expression which can take a variety of values For example in the expression 5x2 – 3x + 9 x is the variable and 9 is a constant
VAT Standing for Value-Added Tax, VAT is the tax the government demands on many goods and services. It is currently (2000) 17.5% To work out the VAT on an item you multiply by 0.175 (which is 17.5% To work out how much an item will be with VAT ADDED you multiply b 1.175 (which is the same as the orginal price of the item plus the VAT)
Vector A vector is a line which has length and direction Here we have a simple vector whose „tail‟ in on the origin (0,0) and whose „point‟ is on the point (4,3) – the length can be worked out using Pythagoras‟ Theorem as 5
Here we have two vectors A and B and the result of adding them together - C
Venn Diagram A diagram which shows all the mathematical, or logical, relationships between groups of things. These groups are usually shown as circles and, often, the circles will overlap:
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For example if we show the relationship between „All wooden things‟ and “all tables” w can draw this as a two circle Venn diagram: Circle representing the group of wooden things
Circle representing the group of all tables
Intersection of the circles – representing ALL WOODEN TABLES
Vertex The point where two or more edges meet – NOTE that it is a point, not a line (which are edges) - e.g. a cube has 8 vertices.
Vertical (or upright)
A line which is at right angles (900) to a horizontal line V E R T I C A L
Horizontal
Vertices The points at which edges or faces meet – e,g, a triangle has 3 vertices and a cube has 8 vertices
A pentagon has five vertices
A cube has 8 vertices
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Volume The capacity of a three-dimensional object – e.g. the volume of a cuboid is length x width x height
The volume of this cuboid is 10 x 5 x 4 = 200
The volume of this cylinder is Πr2 x h
Whole number Any of the counting numbers, positive or negative – excluding fractions and decimals part of a number
X-axis The horizontal axis used to locate points on a graph – the first number in a pair of point (e.g. (2,3) is always the x-axis point
Y-axis The vertical axis used to locate points on a graph – the second number in a pair of point (e.g. (2,3) is always the y-axis point
y = mx + c the general form of a linear equation, with m being the GRADIENT of the line and c being the CONSTANT TERM
Yard An Imperial unit of measure. There are 1760 yards in a mile, 36 inches in a yard and 3 feet in a yard. A metre is equal to approximately 39 inches
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Prime, Squares, Cubes and Triangular Numbers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Prime numbers
Square Numbers
Cube Numbers
Triangular numbers
NOTE: If a number has more than one shape on it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is ALL of these types of number. e.g. 64 is BOTH a SQUARE number and a CUBE number
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