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.

term

• any expression written as a product or quotient. e.g. 3xy, 2m³, or -5x³y²z

tessellate

• the repeated use of geometric figures to completely cover a plane without overlapping.

theoretical probability

• probability that is determined on the basis of reasoning, not through experimentation. e.g. Since a regular die has 6 sides, the theoretical probability of tossing a 3 is 1/6.

  transformation

• a movement of one geometric shape to another according to some rule. The common transformations used in middle level mathematics are translations, rotations, and reflections.

translation (slide)

• an exact duplication of a geometric figure formed by moving each point in the figure the same distance and in the same direction.

transversal

• a line that intersects 2 or more other lines in the same plane.

trapezoid

• a quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides.

tree diagram

• a diagram representing a systematic way of determining all possible outcomes in a probability experiment. e.g. if you toss two coins, the possible outcomes are (H,H), (H,T), (T,H) and (T,T):

  

trinomial

• a polynomial consisting of 3 terms.

turn

• see rotation.

unit price

• the price of a single item or the price per kilogram or gram.

unlike terms

• terms with different variables or the same variables raised to different exponents.

e.g. 4x² and 2x³.

variable

• a symbol, usually a small case letter, used to represent one or more numbers. e.g. In the expression 2x + 3, the variable is x. The 3 is called a constant because its value never changes.

vertex (plural: vertices)

• the point of intersection of two rays that form an angle, two sides of a polygon or two edges of a solid.

  

vertically opposite angles

• two angles formed by the intersection of two lines. They share a common vertex but no sides or interior points. e.g.

  

  Vertically opposite angles, < a < c and < b < d, are congruent

vulgar fraction

• a rational number expressed as an integer divided by a non-zero integer. For example the rational number two and one-fifth can be expressed as the mixed number 2 1/5 or as the vulgar fraction 11/5.

whole number

• an number consiting of one or more units, without fractions.

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