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A Glossary of Mathematical Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ

A
Acute: An acute angle is one less than 90 degrees (a quarter turn) in size, as shown by the bowed line in the diagram below:

Angle: The amount of turn around a single point. To visualise an angle, imagine the hands of a clock moving round the centre of the clock. The amount that the hands have turned is the angle itself - regardless of how long or short the clock hands are.

B C
Circumference: The distance all the way round a circle (i.e. the length of its perimeter). It also refers to the perimeter itself, not just its length.

Congruent: Two shapes are congruent if they are exactly the same shape and exactly the same size, i.e. each shape could be fitted over the other one exactly. The shapes don't have to be the same way up - they can be rotated or reflected (i.e. "flipped over" as in a mirror). See also similar.

Corollary: A theorem that is expressed the opposite way round from normal. In other words, if a theorem states that "If X is true, then Y must be true as well", then the corollary to that theorem states the same thing the other way round: "If Y is true, then X is true as well." For instance, it is a mathematical fact that the opposite angles of a cyclic quadrilateral are supplementary. The corollary to this theorem is that any quadrilateral whose opposite angles are supplementary must be cyclic. (You thought a corollary was a heart attack, didn't you!) Cyclic: This is nothing to do with Uri Gellar! A polygon is cyclic if all its vertices lie on the circumference of a circle. The diagram below shows a cyclic quadrilateral and a cyclic pentagon.

D
Denominator: The lower number in a vulgar fraction. For instance, in the following fraction, the denominator is 7: 2 7 See also numerator. Diameter: The distance all the way across a circle from one point on the circumference to the point directly opposite, in a straight line through the centre.

E
Equation: This is a mathematical statement that contains an equal sign, indicating that the left side of the equation (to the left of the equal sign) and the right side of the equation (to the ... well, work it out for yourself!) are both the same size. Technically, 1 + 1 = 2 is an equation, although a rather pointless one! Often an equation will contain an unknown value, represented by a letter of the alphabet, and we can use the equation to work out what the value must be. For instance, in this equation: 4x + 7 = 9x - 3 we can work out that x must be 2. Equilateral: An equilateral triangle is one that has all its sides equal, and all its angles equal (i.e. they must all be 60o). It is a regular triangle.

F
Factor: A factor of a number is a whole number that can be divided into it exactly without any remainder. For instance, 6 is a factor of 72 as 6 can be divided into 72 (72 can be divided by 6) exactly, without any remainder. On the other hand, 5 is not a factor of 37 as dividing 37 by 5 produces a remainder of 2. See also multiple.

G H
Highest Common Factor (HCF): The highest common factor is the largest whole number that divides into both the numbers without remainder. It is the largest whole number that "goes into" both of them. For instance, here are the factors of 144: Factors of 144: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72, 144

... and here are the factors of 80: Factors of 80: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 40, 80 I have shown the factors that are common to both lists in red. You can see that the largest number in red in each list is 16. 16 is a common factor to both numbers, and it is the highest common factor of both 144 and 16. Hypotenuse: (pronounced "high-pot-in-ooze"). This is the longest side of a rightangled triangle. It is always the side opposite the right angle:

I
Identity: An equation that is true whatever the values of the variables within it. The following equation, for instance, is an identity: (x + 2)(x - 3) | x2 - x - 6 This equation is always true, whatever value you choose for x. Note that we say that the sides are "identically equal", rather than just "equal", and write the equals sign with three lines not two. However, the following equation is not an identity: (x + 2)(x - 3) = x2 - x - y as it is only true when y is 6. Identity Matrix: This is also called the Unit Matrix. It refers to a square matrix which contains nothing but 0s, except for the main diagonal (from top left to bottom right) which contains 1s. The diagrams below show the 2-by-2 identity matrix and the 3-by-3 identity matrix:
1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

The identity matrix is usually represented by the letter I. This matrix is special because if you multiply it by any other matrix, in either order, then the matrix stays the same. For instance, if A is a matrix, and I is the identity matrix that is the correct size to be multiplied by A, then
A . I = A I . A = A

Inscribed. A shape is inscribed within another shape if all of its vertices lie on the edge of that shape. For instance, the rectangle below is inscribed in a circle, because all four corners of the rectangle lie on the rim of the circle:

Any polygon inscribed inside a circle, like that rectangle above, is called cyclic. Integer: Another name for a whole number, i.e. one without a fractional or decimal part. Isosceles. This word is only ever applied to triangles. An isosceles triangle has two of its sides equal and two of its angles equal. The two equal angles are always opposite the equal sides. The following diagrams show two isosceles triangles:

The two sides that are equal in each triangle are marked with single or double dashes. The two angles that are equal in each triangle are marked with single or double bows.

J K

L M
Multiple: A multiple of a number is any whole number that the first number will divide into without remainder. For instance, 121 is a multiple of 11 as 11 divides into 121 without any remainder. On the other hand, 60 is not a multiple of 9 as dividing 60 by 9 produces a remainder of 6. See also factor.

N
Numerator: The top number in a vulgar fraction. For instance, in the following fraction, the numerator is the number 7: 7 10 See also denominator.

O
Obtuse: An angle is obtuse if it is larger than 90 degrees (a quarter turn) and less than 180 degrees (a half turn). The following diagram shows an obtuse angle:

P
Parallel: Two lines are parallel if the perpendicular distance between the line is always the same. In practice this refers to straight lines that are always the same distance apart - they never get closer together or further apart. Parallel lines are usually marked with arrows. For instance, in the diagram below the two lines marked with a single arrow are parallel to each other, and the two lines marked with a double arrow are parallel to each other.

Pentagon: A polygon with five straight sides. Polygon: A shape consisting of several straight sides. Some polygons have special names: A shape with three sides is called a TRIANGLE. A shape with four sides is called a QUADRILATERAL. A shape with five sides is called a PENTAGON. A shape with six sides is called a HEXAGON. A shape with seven sides is called a HEPTAGON. A shape with eight sides is called a OCTAGON. A shape with nine sides is called a NONAGON. A shape with ten sides is called a DECAGON.

Q
Quadrilateral: A shape consisting of 4 straight sides.

R
Radius (pl. radii): The distance from the centre of a circle to any point on its perimeter (circumference).

Reflex: A reflex angle is any angle greater than 180 degrees. It is effectively an angle "bent back on itself", as shown by the bowed lines in the diagram below:

There are, of course, two angles shown in each diagram, one on the "inside" of the bend and one on the "outside". The reflex angle in each case is the one on the outside. However, this does mean that all reflex angles must be accompanied by an acute or an obtuse angle. Regular: A regular polygon is one in which all the sides are the same length, and all the angles are the same size. A regular triangle is called equilateral, and a regular quadrilateral is called a square.

S
Scalene: This adjective is applied to any polygon that has no side equal to any other side, and no angle equal to any other angle. The diagrams below show a scalene triangle and a scalene quadrilateral.

Sector: An area of a circle enclosed between two radii and the arc of the circumference that joins them.

Similar: Two shapes are similar if they are exactly the same shape but different in size, i.e. one shape is an exact copy of the other except bigger or smaller. The shapes don't have to be the same way up, and they can be rotated or reflected. See also congruent.

Supplementary: This term refers to two or more angles that add to give 180o, for instance, angles that make up a straight line, as shown in the diagram below:

Supplementary angles

T
rapezium (or Trapezoid): A four-sided shape with one, and only one, pair of parallel sides. The following diagrams show trapezoids, with the parallel sides marked with arrows.

Triangle: Any shape consisting of 3 straight sides. Trigonometry: The mathematics involved in measuring the angles and side lengths of triangles.

V
Vertex (pl. Vertices): The "corners" of a polygon. For instance, a quadrilateral has four sides and four corners, so we say that it has four vertices.

U
Unit matrix: See Identity Matrix

W X, Y, Z

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