TERM

DEFINITION

Monomial

A number or the product of a number and one or more variables with whole-number exponents

Coefficient

A number in front of the variable in a monomial.

Polynomial

A sum or difference of monomials.

Binomial

A polynomial with two terms.

Trinomial

A polynomial with three terms

Scientific Notation

A number is written in scientific notation if it is written in the form N x 10ⁿ where n is an integer and

Rational Expression

A fraction in which both the numerator and denominator are polynomials

Variable

An unknown quantity usually denoted by a letter such as x.

Quadratic Equation

An equation that can be written in the form , where a, b, and c, are real numbers and .

Complex Numbers

A number that can be written in the form where a and b are real numbers and

Linear Equation

An equation whose graph is a line.

x-intercept

The x-intercept is the ordered pair (a, 0) and is the point where the graph intersects the x-axis

y-intercept

The y-intercept is the ordered pair (0, b) and is the point where the graph intersects the y-axis.

Origin

The point, (0, 0) where the x-axis and the y-axis intersect.

Slope

The slope of a line is the change in y divided by the change in x.

Domain

The set of all acceptable x-values for a function

Range

The set of all resulting y-values.

Function

A function is a set of ordered pairs (x, y) in which no two distinct ordered pairs have the same x-value.

Parabola

A parabola is the graph of a quadratic function.

Vertex

The vertex of a parabola is the ordered pair where the parabola intersects its axis of symmetry

Axis of Symmetry

A line passing through the vertex of a parabola that divides the parabola into two symmetrical parts.

Asymptote

An asymptote is a line that a graph approaches as the values of x approach positive or negative infinity.

Exponential Function

A function of the form where b > 0 and and x is any real number.

Logarithmic Function

A function of the form where b >0 and .

Common Logarithm

A logarithm with base 10

Natural Logarithm

A logarithm with base e.

Sequence

A sequence is a function whose domain is the set of real numbers.

Summation Notation

A shorthand way to denote the sum of the first n terms of a sequence.

Arithmetic Sequence

A sequence in which each term, except the first is found by adding a constant to the preceding term.

Arithmetic Means

Arithmetic means are numbers inserted between the first and last terms of an arithmetic sequence.

Geometric Sequence

A sequence in which each term, except the first is found by multiplying the preceding term by a constant.

Geometric Means

Geometric means are numbers inserted between the first and last terms of a geometric sequence.

Event

A situation that has several outcomes

Permutation

A permutation is an ordered arrangement of items that occurs when no item is used more than once and the order of arrangement makes a difference.

Combination

A combination is an ordered arrangement of items that occurs when no item is used more than once and the order of arrangement does not make a difference.