Illustrated Maths Dictionary
Illustrated Maths Dictionary
212
positive numbers(abbreviated “+ve”)greater than zero. (Negative
means less than zero. Zero is neither negative nor positive.)
Example: 5 is positive five.
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 23
Negative numbers
Origin
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Positive numbers
postulate a statement, also known as an axiom, which is taken
to be true without proof. Postulates are the basic structure from
which lemmas and theorems are derived. The whole of Euclidean
geometry, for example, is based on five postulates known as
Euclid’s postulates.
poundal a unit of force equal to the force that imparts an acceleration
of 1 foot/sec2 to a mass of 1 pound; equal to 0.1382 newtons.
power is an abbreviated form of writing a multiplication formed by
several equal factors. Take 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 = 74 so
* Base The base of a power is the number that multiplies by itself, in this case, 7.
* Exponent. The exponent of a power indicates the number of times to multiply the base by itself, in this case, 4.
power function a function of the form, ƒ:x cxr c, r ∈R,
where c and r are constant real numbers and x is a variable. The
domain of a power function can sometimes be all real numbers,
but generally a non-negativity x≥0 is used to avoid problems
with simplifying. The domain of definition is determined by each
individual case. power function.
2
f (x) = x
h (x) = x
3
p (x) = x5
-1.5
-1
-0.5
2
5
5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
-1.5
-1
-0.5
-1
-1.5
0
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
-0.5
k (x) = x4
g (x) = x2
q (x) = x6
-1
-1.5
-2
-2
Power functions with r=1,3 and 5
Power functions with r=2,4 and 6.
power set “The set of all the subsets of a set”. If we have a set {a,b,c}:
* These are some subsets: {a}, {b} and {c}
* And these are subsets: {a, b}, {a, c} and {b, c},
* And {a,b,c} is also a subset of {a,b,c}
* And the empty set {} is also a subset of {a,b,c}
213
P
So all the subsets together make the Power Set: P(S) = { { }, {a},
{b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a, b, c} }.
power of a number means how many times to use the number in a
multiplication. It is written as a small number to the right and above
the base number. In this example: 82 = 8 × 8 = 64. (Another name
for power is index or exponent) See exponents.
precision how close measured values are to each other.
1.low accuracy
high precition
2. high accuracy
low precition
accurate
and precise
precise, but
not accurate
3.high accuracy
high precition
not accurate
not precise
predecessor the predecessor of a whole number is one less than
the given number. Clearly, the predecessor of 1 is 0; predecessor
of 2 is 1; predecessor of 3 is 2 and so on. The whole number 0 does
not have any predecessor. We observe that every whole number,
other than zero, has its predecessor. Also, if ‘a’ is the successor of
b, then ‘b’ is the predecessor of ‘a’. For example: The predecessor
of 99999 is (99999 - 1) = 99998 and The predecessor of 11999 is
(11999 - 1) = 11998.
prefix a word, letter, or number placed before another. Example: one
millimetre means one thousanth of a metre
prime factor of a number a factor that is a prime number: one of
the prime numbers that, when multiplied, give the original number.
Example: The prime factors of 15 are 3 and 5 (3×5=15, and 3 and 5
are prime numbers).
prime factorization to decompose a number into factors, make
successive divisions among its prime divisors until one is obtained
36
as the quotient. To make the divisions, use
x
4
9
a vertical bar. On the right side of the line,
write the prime divisors and to the left, the 3 x 3 2 x 2
quotients.
The prime factorization 36 is : 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 = 36