MATHEMATICAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:

• algebra: a branch of mathematics that uses symbols or letters to represent variables, values or numbers, which can then be used to express operations and relationships and to solve equations
• algebraic expression: a combination of numbers and letters equivalent to a phrase in language, e.g. x² + 3x - 4
• algebraic equation: a combination of numbers and letters equivalent to a sentence in language, e.g. y = x² + 3x - 4
• algorithm: a step by step procedure by which an operation can be carried out
• axiom: a proposition that is not actually proved or demonstrated, but is considered to be self-evident and universally accepted as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths and theorems, without any need of proof
• factor: a number that will divide into another number exactly, e.g. the factors of 10 are 1, 2 and 5
• fraction: a way of writing rational numbers (numbers that are not whole numbers), also used to represent ratios or division, in the form of a numerator over a denominator, e.g. ³⁄₅ (a unit fraction is a fraction whose numerator is 1)
• geometry: the part of mathematics concerned with the size, shape and relative position of figures, or the study of lines, angles, shapes and their properties
• infinity: a quantity or set of numbers without bound, limit or end, whether countably infinite like the set of integers, or uncountably infinite like the set of real numbers (represented by the symbol ∞)
• integers: whole numbers, both positive (natural numbers) and negative, including zero