GLOSSARY OF MATH TERMS
ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY
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| Word | Definition | Examples |
| Height | It is the altitude of a cone, a cylinder, a parallelogram, a pyramid, a trapezoid and a triangle. | |
| Hyperbola | The set of points in space for which the absolute value of the difference of the distances from the foci, is constant. |
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| Hypotenuse | Only in right triangles is the largest side or the side that is not in contact with the right angle. | 
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| Hypothesis | In a "if p then q" statement is the p. |  |
| i | It is the imaginary unit. The one to indicate the imaginary part of a complex number. i is the square root of -1. |
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| Identity |
Equation that holds true for every value of the variable. It is always true. |
3y + 34 = 34 + 3y |
| Identity function | A function for which the input is equal to the output. In other words a function where x-coordinate is equal to the y-coordinate for all the domain of the function. |
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| Identity Property of Addition | Adding zero to any number yields the same number. |
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| Identity Property of Multiplication | The result of multiplying any number by 1 is the same number. |
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| Image | The resulting figure in a transformation. | |
| Imaginary Number |
A number in the form of bi, where i2 = -1 and thus i is the square root of -1. |
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| Imaginary root theorem | Given a polynomial with real roots and one imaginary root at a + bi the it has another root at its complex conjugate a - bi. |
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| Impossible Event | An event in probability that doesn’t have a single chance of happening. |
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| Improper fraction | A fraction where the numerator is equal or larger than the denominator. An improper fraction may be written as a mixed number. | |
| Incenter of a triangle | The point of concurrency of the angle bisectors in a triangle. | |
| Inconsistent system | Any system of equations with no solution. | |
| Independent Events |
If an outcome doesn’t affect the outcome of a following event, then the two events are independent. |
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| Independent system | A system of equations with exactly one solution. | |
| Independent Variable |
A variable that is not affected by other variable to get its numeric value (input) The input variable |
For y = 5x2
+ 4x + 3 x is the independent variable. |
| Index | The small number in a root that indicates the nth root to which the radicand is. |
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| Indirect measurement | When things are difficult to measure directly, then we used indirect measurement. | |
| Indirect proof | A proof developed using indirect reasoning. | |
| Indirect reasoning | A way of proving a statement negating it in the beginning of the proof and then as the proofs develops; a contradiction to this assumption proves that is wrong and thus we prove the statement. | |
| Inductive Reasoning | Method that
reaches conclusions based on past performance, and observed patterns. From the pattern 3, 5, 7… you may guess that the next number is 9. Note: Sometimes we may reach a wrong conclusion. In the past pattern it may be 11 as well, if we think of it as a progression of prime numbers! |
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| Inequality | One expression that is different from another one. |
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| Initial point | The starting point for a vector. | |
| Inscribed angle | If a vertex of the an angle in a circle is on the circumference and the sides of the angle are chords of the circle, then the angle is inscribed. |
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| Inscribed angle intersecting a semicircle. | The inscribed angle intersecting a semicircle in a given circle is a right angle. |
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| Inscribed angles to the same arc | In a circle, inscribed angles to the same arc are congruent. |
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| Inscribed in | A polygon is inscribed in a circle if the vertices of a polygon inside a circle are on the circumference of the circle; a circle is inscribed to a polygon if all the sides of the polygon are tangent to the circle in the interior of the polygon. |
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| Integer | Whole numbers and their opposites. |
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| Intercepted arc | If an inscribed angle has a point at each side that is on the circumference of the circle and the remaining points of the arc are in the interior of the angle, then the arc is intercepted by the inscribed angle. |
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| Intersect | If two lines cross in a point called intersection, then they are intersecting lines. | 
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| Inverse | In a conditional statement is the negation of both the hypothesis and the conclusion. | 
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| Inverse functions | Two functions are inverses if and only if both of their compositions result in the identity function. f[g(x)]=x and g[f(x)]=x. |
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| Inverse Operation | Each operation has another that undoes it. This is the inverse operation. |
addition and
subtraction are examples of inverse operations. |
| Irrational number | Any number that is impossible to write it as a fraction. A decimal number that doesn’t end or keeps repeating. |
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| Irrational Root Theorem | Given that x and y are rational numbers and Öy is an irrational root; when x + Öy is a root of a given polynomial equation with rational coefficients, then this polynomial has a root in the conjugate x - Öy as well. | |
| Isometric drawing | When drawing 3-D objects showing the corners. |
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| Isometry | Congruence transformation, where the original figure and its image are congruent. | |
| Isosceles trapezoid | Trapezoid with two non-congruent and non-parallel sides. |
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| Isosceles triangle | A triangle with at least two of its sides congruent. |
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| Kite | Parallelogram with two pairs of adjacent sides congruent and without opposite sides congruent. | |
| Law of Cosines | Allows to find missing side in a triangle when two sides are known and the included angle to these sides is also known. |
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| Law of detachment | If p then q is true, and p is true, then q is true. | 
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| Law of Sines | The ratio in a triangle of an angle to its opposite side is constant and equal for all angles in the same triangle. |
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| Law of syllogism | If p --> q is true and q --> r is true, then p --> r is true. | 
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| Legs of a right triangle | The two smaller sides in a right triangle. |
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| Legs of an isosceles triangle | The two congruent sides in an isosceles triangle. |
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| Like radicals | Radicals where both the index and the radicand are the same. | |
| Like terms | Terms that have the same combination of variables to the same power as factors. | 5x and -8x are
like terms 3k2l3 and -9k2l3 are like terms |
| Limit | The least and greatest value in a summation notation. | |
| Line | An infinite set of points that extend forever in two directions. 2 points on the line allows to uniquely define it. | 
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| Line segment | A section of a line, defined by two end points and all the points between them. | 
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| Line symmetry | The reflection line of an object. | |
| Linear | Any equation or term within an equation that when graphed results in a straight line. | y = 6x + 4 has a graph that is a straight line. |
| Linear equation | Any equation with all exponents = 1 regardless of the form the equation is represented. |
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| Linear function | A function whose
graph is a straight line. It has the Slope-Intercept Form
(y = mx + b), the Standard Form (Ax + By = C), and the Point-Slope Form y – y1 = m(x – x1). |
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| Linear Pair | Two adjacent angles with one side common and the other opposite. They are supplementary. | 
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| Linear programming | The method for which we maximize or minimize a function (optimization function) by finding the solution polygon for the two variable inequalities generated by the constrains in the problem and using the coordinates in the vertices of the polygon to evaluate the optimization function. The highest value in the answer is the maximum and the lowest value is the minimum. |
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| Linear systems | Systems of equations with linear equations. You need the same number of equations as variables to be able to solve the system. |
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| LCM | The least common multiple (LCM) of two numbers is the smallest number (different to zero) which is a multiple of both (all). | |
| Locus | A set of points that meet a given condition. (e.g. intersection of three circles) | |
| Logarithm (log) | logb x is the power to which the base b needs to be raised in order to get x. |
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| Logarithmic equation | An equation that contains logarithmic expressions. |
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| Logarithmic function | Any function of
the form y = logb x Logarithmic functions and Exponential functions are inverses. |
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| Magnitude | In a vector it is the length. | |
| Major arc | An arc in a circle that is larger than its semicircle. |
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| Major axis | The major of the two perpendicular axis of symmetry in an ellipse, and in which are located the foci. |
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| Margin of error | ||
| Matrix | Rectangular arrangement of numbers in rows and columns that uses large brackets in order to define the matrix. A matrix size is defined by number of rows and number of columns. |
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| Maximum value | The largest value we may find in a function. | For an downward parabola it is the vertex of the parabola |
| Mean | The result of adding a set of numbers and then divide it by the number of items. It is also the average. | |
| Measures of central tendency | A number that represents the data in the center or middle in a give set of data. | |
| Measures of variation | They explain how the data in a data set spreads out. Examples are standard deviation, interquartile range and range. | |
| Median | After lining up the numbers, from smallest to largest, of a given set; the value in the middle if the number of items is odd, if the number of items is even then it is necessary to get the mean of the two values in the middle. | |
| Median of a triangle | The line segment that goes from the vertex in the triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side to this vertex. A triangle has 3 medians. |
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| Midpoint | The point located in the middle of a line segment and that divides it in two congruent smaller line segments. | 
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| Midpoint (number line) | The average of the coordinates. | 
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| Midpoint (coordinate plane) | Located finding the average for the coordinates of y-axis (y coordinate for MP), and the average for the coordinates of x-axis (x coordinate for MP). | 
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| Midsegment of a triangle. | Refers to the line segment connecting the midpoint of the sides in a triangle. |
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| Midsegment of a trapezoid | The segment joining the midpoint of the non-parallel sides in a trapezoid. |
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| Minimum value | The smallest value we may find in a function. | For an upwards parabola the vertex is the minimum value. |
| Minor arc | Any arc smaller than the semicircle in a given circle. |
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| Minor axis | The smallest of the two perpendicular axis of symmetry in an ellipse. |
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| Mode | In a set of numbers is the item or items that occur most frequently. | |
| Multiplicative inverse |
If two numbers are multiplied and yield 1 then they are multiplicative inverses. The reciprocal inverse of a fraction is obtain when we flip the fraction upside down. |
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| Multiplication counting principle | Given m ways for the first selection and n ways for the second selection, then we may get m x n ways for both selections. |
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| Multiplicity | The number of times that linear factors repeat in a polynomial after this has been factored. | |
| Mutually exclusive events | Events with no common outcomes. |
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| Mutually inclusive events | Events with common outcomes. |
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