Microsoft Mathematics

Glossary
absolute value
The distance between 0 and any real or complex number. For example, 8 would be the absolute value of -8. Absolute value is symbolized by placin the number within vertical bars

additive inverse
A number or !uantity that ives zero when added to another. For example, the additive inverse of " is -"

arc cosecant
The inverse of the cosecant function

arc cosine
The inverse of the cosine function

arc cotangent
The inverse of the cotan ent function

arc secant
The inverse of the secant function

arc sine
The inverse of the sine function

arc tangent
The inverse of the tan ent function

argument
An independent variable whose value determines the value of a mathematical expression

arithmetic mean
see mean

average
see mean

Cartesian coordinates
A pair of coordinates that ive the location of a point on a plane #relative to an ori in and two perpendicular axes$, or a set of three coordinates that ive the location of a point in space #relative to an ori in and three mutually perpendicular planes$

combination
A subset that contains a specified number of the elements of a iven set, selected without re ard to the order in which they were chosen

complex number
A number in the form a % bi, where a and b are real numbers and i & s!rt#-'$ , so that bi is ima inary unless b & 0

complex conjugate number

(ither of a pair of complex numbers that are symmetrically located on either side of an xaxis, differin only in the si n of the ima inary component. For the complex number a%bi, the complex con)u ate number is a-bi

conjunction
Two statements connected by the word *and* to form a lo ical statement

cookies
Files containin user information that +eb sites store on a user,s computer

coordinate
(ach of a set of numbers that to ether describe the exact position of somethin with reference to a set of axes

correlation
The de ree to which two or more variables are related and chan e to ether

cosecant
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the reciprocal of the sine #'-sin$

cosine
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the len th of the side ad)acent to the an le divided by the hypotenuse

cotangent
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the reciprocal of the tan ent #'-tan$

covariance
A statistical measure of the tendency of two variables to chan e in con)unction with each other. .t is e!ual to the product of their standard deviations and correlation coefficients

cube root
A number or !uantity that, when multiplied by itself twice, e!uals a iven number or !uantity

cubic
/elatin to or containin terms to the power of three but not hi her

cubic equation
An e!uation that contains one or more terms raised to the power of three but no hi her

cylindrical coordinates
A set of three coordinates that specify the position of a point in three dimensions by usin polar coordinates in one plane and specifyin the perpendicular distance of the point from the plane

definite integral
An inte ral with upper and lower limits. The difference between the value of an antiderivative at one point a and the value of that antiderivative at another point b

denominator
The number below the line in a simple fraction, which indicates the number of parts ma0in up the whole

derivative
A function derived from another function so that at each point of the ori inal function, the derivative represents the slope of the ori inal function at that point.

descriptive statistics
+ays to describe data in a sample, such as the sample,s central tendency and variability

determinant
The value computed from a s!uare matrix that determines whether the matrix is sin ular #has 0 determinant$ or invertible #has non-zero determinant$

difference
The number that results from subtractin one number from another

disjunction
Two statements connected by the word *or* to form a lo ical statement

dividend
A number or !uantity that is to be divided by another number or !uantity

divisor
A number divided into another number

domain
The set of possible values that you can specify for an independent variable in a function

equation
A mathematical statement that two expressions, usually separated by an e!ual si n, are of the same value

exponent
A number or variable placed to the upper ri ht of a number or mathematical expression that indicates the number of times the number or expression is to be multiplied by itself

expression
Any combination of constants, operators, and variables that represent numbers or !uantities, for example, #1 % x$

factor
2ne of two or more numbers or !uantities that can be multiplied to ether to ive a specified number or !uantity. For example, " and 1 are factors of '1

factorial
The number that results from multiplyin a whole number by every whole number between itself and ' inclusive. The factorial is symbolized by the exclamation point #3$. 1 factorial, or 13, is 1 x 4 x " x 5 x ' & '50

function
A mathematical relationship between variables in which the value of one variable determines a uni!ue value for another variable

geometric mean
The nth root of the product of a set of n numbers

gradian
2ne hundreth of a ri ht an le

greatest common divisor

see greatest common factor

greatest common factor

The lar est number that can be exactly divided into each element of a set of numbers. The reatest common factor of '5, 60, and 84 is '5. Also called reatest common divisor

harmonic mean
A value found by addin the reciprocals of all the numbers in the data set, ta0in the reciprocal of the resultin sum, and multiplyin by the size of the set

highest common factor

see greatest common factor

hyperbola
A conic section formed by a point that moves in a plane so that the difference in its distance from two fixed points in the plane remains constant

hypotenuse
The lon est side of a ri ht trian le, opposite the ri ht an le

identity matrix
A s!uare matrix that has the numeral ' in each position on the principal dia onal and 0 in all other positions

imaginary number
The product of any real number #except zero$ and the s!uare root of -'

improper fraction
A fraction in which the numerator is e!ual to or reater than the denominator, such as 6-4

indefinite integral
Also called an anti-derivative, the indefinite inte ral of a function is the function that has the ori inal function as its derivative.

index
A subscript indicatin the position of an element in a se!uence, series, or matrix, or the variable used to represent such a subscript

intersection
The set of all elements appearin in each set of a specified collection of sets

inverse relationship
.nvolvin two variables that are in a mathematical relationship where, when one increases, the other decreases and vice versa. 7ee also additive inverse or reciprocal.

least common multiple

The lowest whole number that is divisible without a remainder by all of the elements of a set of numbers

limit
A number that is arbitrarily close to the value of a iven function for all values of the function,s independent variable sufficiently close to, but not e!ual to, a iven number #or positive or ne ative infinity$.

linear algebra
A branch of al ebra that deals with linear transformations, vector spaces, matrices, and determinants

linear equation
An e!uation in which any variables that appear are raised to the first power. Also called simple e!uation.

list
An ordered set of elements enclosed in braces

logarithm
The power to which a base must be raised to e!ual a iven number

lowest common multiple

see least common multiple

matrix
A rectan ular array of mathematical elements. For example, the coefficients of linear e!uations, whose rows and columns can be combined with those of other arrays to solve problems

mean
The sum of all the elements of a set divided by the number of elements in the set. Also called arithmetic mean or avera e.

median
The middle value in a set of statistical values that are arran ed in ascendin or descendin order

mode
The value that has the hi hest fre!uency within a statistical ran e. Also called norm

multinomial
see polynomial

multiplicative inverse
see reciprocal

natural logarithm
A lo arithm with the irrational number e as a base

non-singular
8avin a non-zero determinant

norm
see mode

numerator
The number above the line in a simple fraction, which indicates the parts of the whole that are bein considered

operand
A !uantity, function, or other entity that is to have a mathematical operation performed on it

operation
A mathematical process in which entities are derived from others throu h the application of rules, for example, subtraction, multiplication, or differentiation

operator
A mathematical symbol, term, or other entity that performs or describes an operation, for example, a multiplication or subtraction si n

parabola
A curve that consists of points e!uidistant from a fixed point and a fixed line

parameter
.n a mathematical e!uation, a constant that chan es and results in a collection of related curves or surfaces. For example, in the e!uation y & mx%b, m and b are parameters

parametric
2f or pertainin to parameters

parametric equation
An e!uation in which values to be plotted are expressed as functions of underlyin parameters

permutation
An ordered arran ement of elements from a set

polar coordinates
A pair of coordinates that locate a point in a plane by specifyin the len th of a radius vector and the an le it ma0es with a horizontal line

polar equation
An e!uation expressed in polar coordinates

polynomial
A mathematical expression that consists of the sum of a number of terms, each of which contains a constant and variables raised to a positive inte ral power. Also called multinomial

prime number
A whole number reater than one that can only be divided without a remainder by itself and one

product
The number that results from multiplyin two or more numbers

quadratic
/elatin to or containin terms to the power of two but not hi her

quadratic equation
An e!uation that contains one or more terms raised to the power of two but no hi her

quadratic mean
The statistic found by addin the s!uares of all elements of the set, dividin by n #where n is the size of the set$, and then ta0in the s!uare root. Also called root mean s!uare

quotient
The number that results from the division of one number by another

radian (rad
A unit of an ular measurement e!uivalent to the an le between two radii that enclose a section of a circle,s circumference #arc$ e!ual in len th to the len th of a radius. There are 59pi radians in a circle

range
The set of values that a function can ta0e on

real number
A number that is either rational or irrational with no ima inary part

reciprocal
:sed to describe a number or !uality that is related to another by the fact that when multiplied to ether the product is one. 4 and ; are reciprocals

rectangular coordinate
A <artesian coordinate used in a system of axes that meet at ri ht an les

root mean square

see quadratic mean

scalar
A !uantity that has ma nitude but no direction. (xamples of scalars include speed, mass, and time

scientific notation
A way of expressin a iven number as a number between ' and '0 multiplied by '0 to the appropriate power

secant
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the reciprocal of the cosine #'-cos$

series
A #possibly infinite$ sum of indexed terms.

set difference
Those elements of a set A which are not in a second set =

simple equation
see linear equation

sine
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the len th of the side opposite the an le divided by the hypotenuse

spherical coordinates
A set of coordinates used for locatin a point in space representin its distance from some ori in and two an les describin its orientation relative to perpendicular axes extendin from that ori in

square root
A number or !uantity that when multiplied by itself ives the stated number or !uantity.

standard deviation
A statistical measure of the amount by which a set of values differs from the arithmetical mean, e!ual to the s!uare root of the mean of the differences, s!uares

sum
The number that results from addin two or more numbers

tangent
For a iven an le in a ri ht trian le, a tri onometric function e!ual to the len th of the side opposite the an le divided by the len th of the ad)acent side

transpose
A matrix created by interchan in the rows and columns of a previously iven matrix

unbiased
+ith an expected value that is e!ual to the parameter bein estimated

union
The set of all elements appearin in any of a specified collection of sets

variable
A symbol that represents an unspecified or un0nown !uantity, such as *a,* *b,* or *x*

variance
A statistical measure of the spread or variation of a roup of numbers in a sample, e!ual to the s!uare of the standard deviation

vector
A !uantity that has both ma nitude and direction. (xamples of vectors include force and velocity

x-axis
The horizontal axis in a two-dimensional coordinate system, also conventionally the horizontal axis in the three-dimensional <artesian coordinate system

y-axis
The vertical axis in a two-dimensional coordinate system, also one of the axes in the threedimensional <artesian coordinate system