• ALGEBRA II VOCABULARY

    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.