Note: The definitions included here are those that are used in the Saskatchewan Education document "Mathematics 6-9: A Curriculum Guide for the Middle Level".

Various mathematics dictionaries may have different definitions. These definitions are designed to be meaningful to middle level mathematics teachers.

data

• facts and opinions from which conclusions can be drawn.

degree of a:

polynomial

• the greatest of the degrees of its terms.

term

• the sum of the number of times each variable appears as a factor. e.g. the degree of the term 5x³y⁴z is 8 because 3 + 4 + 1 = 8.

dependent events

• events whose outcomes affect each other.

diagonal

• a segment joining two non-consecutive vertices of a convex polygon . e.g.


AC is a diagonal.

diameter

• a chord that passes through the centre of a circle.

dilatation

• the enlargement or reduction of a plane figure.

distributive property

• adding two numbers and then multiplying by another yields the same result as multiplying each one by the number and then adding the products. i.e. a(b + c) = ab + ac, or (a+b)c = ac + bc. E.g. 2(3 + 5) = 2x3 + 2x5.

divisibility rules

• patterns that allow you to determine whether or not a number divides evenly into another number (leaving no remainder) without actually doing the division. e.g. a number that ends in 5 or 0 is divisible by 5.

edge

• the line segment where two faces of a polyhedron meet.

equation

• a mathematical sentence containing an equal sign.

equiangular or equilateral triangle

• see regular polygon regular polygon.

estimation

• determining an approximate amount, value or size of something.
  Quantitative estimation is determining the approximate number of items in a group.
• Computational estimation is determining the approximate result to an arithmetic calculation.
• Measurement estimation is determining the approximate length, perimeter, area, volume or other measurement of a geometric figure.

Euler's formula

• a formula relating the number of vertices (V), faces (F) and edges (E) of a polyhedron.

V + F - E = 2.

event

• one or more outcomes of a probability experiment.

experimental probability

• the ratio of the number of favorable outcomes in an experiment to the total number of outcomes in the experiment.

exponent

• a number that indicates the number of times the base appears as a factor. e.g. 4³ = 4X4X4. The exponent is 3. The entire term is called a power and 4 is the base. When 0 is the exponent the value of the power is 1.

i.e. (-9)⁰ = 1. When the exponent is a negative integer, the value of the power is the reciprocal of the value when the exponent is its opposite.

i.e. 3^{- 4}= 1/3⁴.

expression

mathematical

•  a group of symbols representing numbers and operations.
  
  

open

•  a mathematical expression containing variables.

• the angle outside a polygon formed by extending one of its sides.

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