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		Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. - Albert Einstein

Terms and Definitions

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L  
   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   V   U   W   X   Y   Z  

A

B

C

congruent triangle

Two angles are congruent if they have the same measurements.
 

coordinate

In an ordered pair, the first component is called the x-coordeinate and the second component is called the y-coordinate.
 

coordinate plane

A coordinate plane is a number plane formed by two perpendicular number lines that intersect at their zero points.
 

coplaner points

Points are coplanar if they lie in the same plane.
 

D

E

F

G

H

I

infamous

Having a reputation of the worst kind. From the word infamy which means an evil reputation brought about by something grossly criminal, shocking, or brutal.
 

isosceles triangle

An isosceles triangle has at least two congruent sides. The congruent sides are called legs and the angles opposite the legs are base angles. The angles formed by two legs is the vertex angle and the third side is the base.
 

J

K

L

line

A line is one of the basic terms in geometry. It may be thought of as a "straight" line that can be drawn with a ruler on a piece of paper except that a line extends forever in both directions. The name of a line passing through two different points A and B may be written as "line AB", with a two-headed arrow over AB, or by lower case script letters. Lines extend indefinitely and have no thickness or width.
 

M

measure

1. The measure of line AB is the distance between point A and point B.
2. A protractor can be used to find the measure of an angle.
 

midpoint

A point M is the midpoint of a segment if M is between the two endpoints of the segment.
 

N

net

1. A two-dimensional figure that when folded forms the surfaces of a three-dimensional object.
2 An open-meshed fabric twisted, knotted, or woven together at regular intervals such as a device for catching fish, birds, or insects.
 

network

A network is a figure consisting of nodes and edges.
 

n-gon

A polygon with n sides is called an n-gon.
 

node

The points in graph theory are nodes.
 

noncollinear points

Points are noncollinear is they do not lie on the same line.
 

O

ordered pair

An ordered pair is a pair (two) of numbers in which the order is specified. Ordered pairs are used to locate points in a plane.
 

ordered triple

An ordered triple is a three numbers in which the order is specified. Ordered triples are used to locate points in a space.
 

P

parallelogram

A parallelogram is a quadrilateral where both pairs of opposite sides are parallel. Any side of a parallelogram may be refered to as a base. For each base there is a corresponding segment called the altitude that is perpendicular to the base and has its endpoints on the lines containing the base and the opposite side.
 

point

A point is one of the basic terms in geometry. It may be thought of as a "dot" on a piece of paper and is identified with a number or letter. A point has no length or width, it just specifies an exact location.
 

polygon

A polygon meets each of the following conditions: a) it is formed by three or more coplanar segments called sides, b) sides that have a common endpoint are noncollinear, and c) each side intersects exactly with two other sides at their endpoints which are called vertices.
 

plane

A plane is one of the basic terms in geometry. Planes extend indefinitely in all directions and have no thickness. A plane is represented bya four-side figure and is named by a capital script letter or by three poins of the plane not on the same line.
 

Pythagorean Theorem

The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the measures of the legs equals the square of the measure of the hypotenuse. (a² + b² = c²)
 

Q

quadrilateral

A quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon.
 

R

rectangle

A rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles.
 

ruler postulate

The point on any line can be paired with real numbers so that, given any two points P and Q on the line, P corresponds to zero, and Q corresponds to a positive number.
 

S

segment

A segment is a apart of a line that consists of two points, called endpoints, and all the points between them.
 

segment bisector

A segment bisector is a segment, line, or plane that intersects a segment at its midpoint.
 

space

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Oh, wait, sorry...
Space is the set of all points.
 

T

trapezoids

A trapezoid is a quadrilateral that has exactly one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called bases, the nonparallel sides are called legs, and the angles formed by bases and the legs are called base angles. The line segment joining the midpoints of the legs is called the mediam. The altitude is a segment perpendicular to both bases with its endpoints on the bases.
 

U

undefined term

An underfined term is a word that has a meaning that is readily understood. The basic undefined terms of geometry are point, line, and plane.
 

V

vector

A vector is a directed segment. It is a quantity which possesses both magnitude (length) and direction.
 

vertex

1. The vertex of an angle is the common endpoint of the two rays that form the angle.
2. In a polygon, each endpoint of a sideis called a vertex.
3. In a polyhedron, three or more edges intersect at a point called a vertex.
4. In a pyramid, the vertex is the point where all but one of the faces intersect.
5. In a cone, the vertex is the point opposite from where you put in the ice cream.
 

vertex angle

In an isosceles triangle, the angle formed by the congruent sides (legs) is called the vertex angle.
 

vertex angles

Two angles are vertical if they are two nonadjacent angles formed by two intersectiong lines..
 

volume

The volume of a figure is the measure of the amount of space the figure encloses.
 

W

word problem

The overly dreaded problem whose solution requires that common english be translated into the language of mathematics, where symbols are used for numbers (known or unknown) and for mathematical operations in one or more equations. In other words, how math is used in the real world.
 

X

x-axis

The x-axis is the horizontal number line in a coordinate plane.
 

x-coordinate

The x-coordinate is the first component in an ordered pair.
 

Y

y-axis

The y-axis is the vertical number line in a coordinate plane.
 

y-coordinate

The y-coordinate is the second component in an ordered pair.
 

Z

z-axis

The z-axis is the number line perpendicular to the coordinate plane formed by the x-axis and y-axis.
 

z-coordinate

The z-coordinate is the third component in an ordered triple.
 

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