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Algebra Chapter 1
Question | Answer |
---|---|
variable | a letter or symbol used to represent a value that can change. |
coefficient | a number multiplied by a variable. |
constant | a value that does not change |
numerical expression | may contain only constants and operations |
algebraic expression | may contain variables, constants, and operations. |
power | an expression written with an exponent and a base or the value of such an expression. |
square root | a number that is multiplied by itself to form a product |
perfect square | a number whose positive square root is a whole number. |
natural numbers | counting numbers: 1,2,3,... |
whole numbers | Natural numbers and zero: 0,1,2,3... |
integers | whole numbers and their opposites: -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3.... |
rational numbers | can be expressed in the forms a/b where a and b are both integers and b is not equal to 0. |
terminating decimals | rational numbers in decimal form that have a finite number of digits. |
repeating decimals | rational numbers in decimal form that have a block of one or more digits that repeats continuously. |
irrational numbers | cannot be expressed in the form a/b. They include square roots of whole numbers that are not perfect squares and nonterminating decimals that do not repeat. |
additive inverse | A number and its opposite. Their sum is zero. |
reciprocal | Two numbers whose product is 1. |
absolute value | The distance of the number from zero on a number line. |
evaluate | to find the value of an algebraic expression by substituting a number for a variable and simplifying. |
opposite | The number that is the same distance from zero on the number line; the additive inverse. |
multiplicative inverse | the reciprocal of a number |
base | the number in a power that is used as a factor |
exponent | the number in a power that tells how many times the base is used as a factor |
order of operations | a process for evaluating expressions, sometimes referred to as PEMDAS |
term | the part of an expression that is added or subtracted |
like terms | terms with the same variables raised to the same exponents. |
commutative property | For addition and multiplication, the order does not matter. For any numbers a and b, a+b = b+a and ab = ba. |
associative property | For addition and multiplication, the grouping does not matter. For any numbers a, b, and c, (a+b)+c = a+(b+c) and (ab)c = a(bc). |
distributive property | For all real numbers a, b, and c: a(b+c) = ab + ac |
real numbers | every point on the number line, either a rational or irrational number |