Appendix F - Glossary
(P-R)

parabola

The intersection of a conical surface and a plane parallel to an element of the surface.

parallel lines

Lines in the same plane that never meet.

parallelogram

A quadrilateral with opposite sides parallel and equal in length.

percentage

A fraction or ratio expressed as part of 100.

percentile

One of the division points that divides a set of ranked data into one hundred equal points.

perimeter

The distance or length of the boundary of a closed figure.

period

The interval taken to make one complete oscillation or cycle.

permutation

The number of ways of selecting objects from n distinguishable objects without replacement when order of selection is important.

_nP_r =n (n-1) (n-2) . . . (n-r+1)

perpendicular bisector

A line that intersects another line at a right angle and divides the line into two equal parts.

perpendicular line

Two lines that intersect at a right angle.

phase shift

For a particular value of the independent variable of a periodic function, the part or fraction through which the variable has advanced.

pictograph

A graph that uses pictures or symbols to represent similar data.

plane of symmetry

A 2-D flat surface that cuts through a 3-D object, forming two mirror images.

polygon

A closed figure formed by three or more line segments that do not intersect other than at the vertices.

polyhedron

A 3-D figure having polygons as faces.

polynomial

A mathematical expression that is a sum of terms, each term being a product of a constant and a non-negative (or zero) power of a variable or variables. For example:

3x³ - 2x + .5x² + 6

population

A group of items from which a sample is taken for statistical measurement.

power

A number written in exponential form. For example:
4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 4⁵

primary trigonometric functions

sine A= a/c = opp/hyp
cosine A= b/c = adj/hyp
tangent A= a/b = opp/adj
Functions of angles defined, for an acute angle, as ratios of sides in a right triangle.

prime

A number having exactly two factors, 1 and itself. For example: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 are prime numbers.

prime factorization

A composite number expressed as a product of prime factors. For example: 36 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3

prism

A solid with two parallel and congruent bases in the shape of polygons; the other faces are parallelograms.

probability

A measure associated with an event, A, and denoted P_r(A) that takes a value such that

product

A number resulting from multiplication.

pyramid

A polyhedron with one polygonal base and the same number of triangular faces as there are sides on the base.

Pythagorean theorem

In a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the sides containing the right angle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (a ²+ b ² = c ²).

quadrant

One of four regions formed by two intersecting perpendicular lines.

quadratic formula

A formula used to determine the roots of a quadratic equation (see appendix H).

quadratic function (see parabola)

A polynomial function of degree two of the form

quadrilateral

A polygon with four sides.

quartile

The value between consecutive intervals in a frequency distribution of four intervals containing one-quarter of the population.

quotient

A number resulting from division.

radian

Equal to the central angle subtended by an arc of unit length at the centre of a circle of unit radius.

radical

The root of a quantity as indicated by the sign

.

radius

A line segment that joins the center of a circle and a point on the circumference.

range

The difference between the extremes in a set of numbers (e.g., 20 to 35: range is 15); the set of values a function takes on.

rank ordering

The order according to some statistical characteristic.

rate

A comparison of two measurements with different units. For example, the speed of an object measured in kilometres per hour.

ratio

A comparison of two numbers. For example:
3:7

rational expression

The quotients of two polynomial functions. The denominator cannot be 0.

rational number

A real number that can be expressed in the form of a fraction( ), with the numerator and denominator being whole numbers.

rationalize the denominator

Transforming a term involving radicals and fractions into an equivalent fraction with the expression for the denominator free of radicals. For example:

reciprocal

The number or expression produced by dividing 1 by a given number or expression.

rectangular prism

A prism whose bases are congruent rectangles.

recursive definition

A function or sequence that allows the systematic calculation of values, given an initial value (or values) and the relation. For example:

reference angle

Angles that have the same absolute values for their trigonometric function.

reflection

A flip transformation of an object in a mirror or over a reflection line.

reflex angle

An angle whose measure is between 180° and 360°.

relation

An association between, or property of, two or more objects.

remainder theorem

A polynomial P(x) divided by x-h  has a remainder equal to P (h).

repeating decimal

A decimal in which one or more digit(s) repeat without termination. For example:

resultant

The sum of two or more vectors.

right angle

An angle whose measure is 90°.

root of an equation

A number that, when substituted for the variable in the equation, reduces it to zero.

rotation

A turn transformation of an object about a fixed point.

rounding

A rule to follow when making an approximation to a given number by using fewer significant figures.

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