GED Mathematics Glossary

Absolute value
thedistancefromanumbertozeroonthe
numberline

numericaloperationused
add/addition to combine quantities;
findatotal(sum)

a mathematical expression
thatcontainsoneormore
algebraicexpression variables;agroupofnumber,
variables and operations
signs

apairofraysextending
angle
fromacommonpoint
GED Mathematics Glossary

ameasureoftheamount
Area ofsurfaceonaclosed
plane figure
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Associativeproperty
foraddition and multiplication, three numbers that can be
[Link]
anynumbera,b,andc,(a+b)+c=a+(b+c)and(ab)c=a(bc)

the sum of a set of

numbersdividedbythe
Average(mean)
numberofnumbersina
set

horizontalandvertical
axis scalesonagraphor
coordinateplane

visual presentation of
categoricaldatafrom
bar graph differentsourcesasthe
heightorlengthofbars
againstthesamescale
GED Mathematics Glossary

thewholeamountinthe
percent problem; in
base
geometry, the side(face)
onwhichthefiguresits
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Box plot
awayofgraphicallydepictinggroupsof
numericaldatathroughtheirquartiles

theprocessofreducingtomultiply
anddividefractions;dividingout
common factors from the
canceling numeratorandthedenominatorof
a fraction before multiplying or
dividing

visual organization and

chart presentationofdatain
rows orcolumns

aplanefigure,eachpoint
Circle of which is the same
distancefromthecenter
 GED Mathematics Glossary

visualpresentationofdata
showingpartsofawhole(the
circle graph
circle) using percents,
decimals orfractions
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thedistancearounda
Circumference
circle

datathataregrouped
cluster
closelytogether

Coefficient
anumberorsymbolmultipliedwithavariableor
anunknownquantityinanalgebraicterm

agroupofobjectsfroma
setinwhichtheorderof
combination
the objects does not
matter
 GED Mathematics Glossary

simplifyanexpressionby
combineliketerms addingorsubtractinglike
terms
 GED Mathematics Glossary

forasetoffractions,a
numberintowhicheach
Commondenominator
denominatorcandivide
evenly

anumberthatisafactor
commonfactor
oftwoormorefactors

foraddition and multiplication,

numbers can be added or
[Link]
Commutativeproperty [Link]
numbersaandb,a+b+=b+aand
ab=ba

determining which numbers is

greater; arranging numbers in
comparing
order;usingequalityand
inequalitysymbols
GED Mathematics Glossary

Cone
a3-dimensionalfigurewhosebaseisacircleandwhoseheight
istheperpendiculardistancefromthebasetothevertex
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Congruentfigures
geometricfigureswithexactlythesameshape
and samesize

one following the other,

Consecutive forexample,19and20
are consecutive numbers

numbers incounting
consecutivenumbers
order

theconstantvalueofthe
constant of rationoftwoquantitiesin a
proportionality proportional
relationship
 GED Mathematics Glossary

equivalency to change
conversionfactor from one unit of
measurement to another
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Coordinate plane
aflatsurfacedividedbyahorizontalx-axisanda
verticaly-axis

apairofnumbersintheform(x,y)that
identifythedistanceofapointfromthe
Coordinates / ordered originorcenteronthecoordinateplane.
Thefirstnumbertellsthedistancetothe
pair left orrightof thevertical axis,andthe
secondnumbertellsthedistanceabove
or below the horizontal axis

Theproductofthenumbers
whicharediagonalfromone
Cross Products another in a proportion
[Link]
bothsides.

a number multiplied by
Cube itselfthreetimes(2^3,or2 x
2 x 2 = 8)
 GED Mathematics Glossary

theoppositeofthecubeofa
number;asquareroot,butto
Cube root the3rdpower,ratherthanthe
2nd.(thecuberootof8is2,
because2x2x2=8)
 GED Mathematics Glossary

unitsintheshapeofacube
withthelengthofeachside
cubic units equaltothelinearunitused
tomeasurethevolumeofa
threedimensionalfigure

measurement system
commonlyusedintheUnited
customary(U.S.)systemof
States; some examples of
measurement standardsunitsarefeet,miles,
inches,pounds&ounces

Cylinder
a3-dimensionalfigurethathasbothacircularbaseandacirculartop,
andwhoseheightistheperpendiculardistancefromthetoptothe
bottom

acollectionoffacts,suchas
numbers, words,
Data measurements, observations
orevenjustdescriptionsof
things
GED Mathematics Glossary

Decimal
afractioninwhichthewholeisdividedintotenths,
hundredths, thousandths, ten-thousandths, and soon
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thebottomnumberina
Denominator
fraction

inprobability,aneventwhose
outcome(occurringlater)is
dependent
affectedbytheoutcomeof an
earlierevent

theoutputofafunction,
thevariablewhosevalue
dependentvariable
dependsonthevalueof
the input

a line segment drawn

betweentheverticesoftwo
diagonal non-adjacentsidesofafigure
thathasfourormorestraight
lines
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Diameter
thedistanceacrossandthroughthecenterofa
circle
 GED Mathematics Glossary

the answer to a
Difference
subtractionproblem

oneof the ten number

Digit symbols.Thedigitsare0,
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,and9.

thevalueunderneaththe
discriminant radical sign in the
quadraticformula

amathematicalrulestatingthatthe
quotientofthesum(ordifference)
Distributivepropertyof
oftwonumbersisequaltothesum
division ordifference)ofthequotientsof
eachnumberdividedindividually
 GED Mathematics Glossary

whenmultiplyinganumberbyasumor
adifference,youmayfirstmultiplyeach
numberinthesumordifference,oryou
Distributivepropertyof canfindthesumordifferenceandthen
multiplication multiple.
Foranynumbersa,b,andc,a(b+c)=
ab+bcanda(b-c)=ab-ac.
 GED Mathematics Glossary

numericaloperationused
tosplitaquantityunto
divide/division
equal parts; find a
quotient

thenumberbeingdivided
dividend
by thedivisor

thenumberdividingthe
divisor dividend;thenumberof
parts

Dot plot
a graphical display of data using dots
 GED Mathematics Glossary

rewritingalinearsystem
byaddingequationsto
eliminationmethod
getanewequationinone
variable
 GED Mathematics Glossary

astatementthattwo
Equation
amountsareequal

amathematicalstatement
equation thatsaystwoexpressions
are equal

twoormoreexpressions
thatareequalforany
equivalentexpressions
valueofthevariablesin
theexpression

fractionsthathavethe
equivalentfractions
samevalue
 GED Mathematics Glossary

asanoun:anapproximate
value.
Estimate
asaverb:tofindan
approximate value.
 GED Mathematics Glossary

tofindthevalueofa
numericaloralgebraic
Evaluate
expression;tosolvean
equation

awholenumberthatis
Even number
evenlydivisibleby2

chance of a specific outcome

determined by performing a
experimentalprobability numberoftrials;theratioofthe
numberoffavorableoutcomes
obtainedtototalnumberoftrials

anumberthattellsthepower
[Link]
Exponent
example,in3^2,thebaseis3
andtheexponentis2.
GED Mathematics Glossary

apolygonthatispartofa
face
3D figure
 GED Mathematics Glossary

asanoun:anumberthatdivides
evenlyintoanothernumber
Factor asaverb:towriteanumberoran
algebraicexpressionasaproduct
oftwoormoreterms

findingthealgebraictermsor
expressions (called factors)
factoringanexpression
that, when multiplied, will
resultinacertainproduct

asystemformultiplying
algebraic factors withmore
FOIL Method
thanoneterm;standsfor
First-Outer-Inner-Last

amathematicalrulethat
Formula tellstherelationship
betweenquantities
GED Mathematics Glossary

Fraction a part of a whole

 GED Mathematics Glossary

aspecialrelationshipwhere
eachinputhasasingle
Function [Link]
"f(x)"wherexistheinput
value

adiagramthatshowsa
Graph relationship among
numbers

thegreatestfactorthat
Greatestcommonfactor
dividestwonumbers

the measure of the vertical

distanceofaplance(2D)shapreor
solid(3D)figurefromthebase to
height the opposite side or face or
vertex;animaginarylinesegment
perpendiculartothebase
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Histogram
agraphicalrepresentationofthedistributionof
numerical data
 GED Mathematics Glossary

scalethatrunsalongthe
bottomorlefttorighton
horizontalaxis
agraphorcoordinate
grid

Hypotenuse
inarighttriangle,thesideopposite(acrossfrom)
the rightangle

afractioninwhichthe
numerator is greaterthan
Improperfraction
or equal to the
denominator

inprobability,anevent
whoseoutcomeisnot
independent
affectedbytheoutcome
ofanearlierevent
 GED Mathematics Glossary

theinputofafunction;the
variable whose value
independentvariable
determinesthevalueofan
output-dependent variable
 GED Mathematics Glossary

amethodusedtofind
measureswhenthereis
indirectmeasurement
noactualwaytoperform
themeasurement

a statement that two

amount are not equal. For
Inequality
example,<(lessthan)or>(
greater than)

positiveandnegative
Integer
wholenumbersandzero

a fee charged for using

someone else's money;
interest usuallyexpressedasarate-a
percentoftheamountbeing
usedoveraunitoftime
 GED Mathematics Glossary

equalsegmentsona
intervals
numberline
 GED Mathematics Glossary

anoperationthatreverses
inverse the effect of another
operation

afiguremadeofseveral
irregularfigure
commonshapes

performoperationstoget
isolatethevariable thevariablealoneonone
sideoftheequation

thepartofthegraphthat
key indicateshowtointerpret
symbols orcolors
 GED Mathematics Glossary

ina3Dfigurethathas
bases,lateralareaisthe
lateralsurfacearea
sumoftheareasofthe
nonbasesurfaces
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thesmallestpositivenumberthatisa
multipleoftwoormorenumbers.

Example:theLeastCommonMultipleof3
Leastcommonmultiple and5is15,because15isamultipleof3and
also a multiple of 5. Other common
multiplesinclude30and45,etc,butthey
arenotthesmallest(least).

Legs
the two shorter sides in a right triangle

fractionsthathavethe
like fractions
samedenominator

algebraic terms that

like terms containexactlythesame
variablesandexponents
GED Mathematics Glossary

Line astraightpathofpointsthatcontinuesin
two opposite directions
 GED Mathematics Glossary

anequationwhosegraph
Linearequation
isastraightline

visualpresentationof
dataasalineonagrid,
line graph
oftenshowingchange
over time

Linesegment
astraightpathofpointswithdefinitelength,
having two endpoints.

medianof thelower half

lower quartile
ofdataindataset
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thesmallestnumberthat
lowest(orleast)common isacommonmultipleof
denominator thedenominatorsoftwo
ormore fractions
 GED Mathematics Glossary

the sum of a set of

numbersdividedbythe
Mean
numberofnumbersina
set(AKAaverage)

anumberinthemiddleof
asetofnumbers,orthe
Median
meanofthetwomiddle
numbersinaset

measurementsystemused
metric systemof throughoutmostofthe
measurement worldthatisbasedonthe
powers of10

anumberwithbotha
Mixed number wholenumberanda
fraction
GED Mathematics Glossary

The mode of a set of numbers is

[Link],
Mode intheset{1,5,7,5,9},themodeis5
becausethereare2fivesandonly
oneofeachoftheothers.
 GED Mathematics Glossary

theresultofmultiplyinga
givennumberbythe
multiple
counting numbers (0,1,2,3
and soon)

numericaloperationused
tocombinethesame
multiply/multiplication
quantitymanytimes;find a
product

Negativenumber anumberlessthanzero

alineusedtorepresent
positive numbers,
Number line
negative numbers, and
zero
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thetopnumberina
Numerator
fraction
 GED Mathematics Glossary

awholenumberthatis
Odd number
notevenlydivisibleby2

somethingdonetooneor
operation morenumberstoproduce
ananswer

a sequence agreed upon by

mathematicians,forperforming
mathematicaloperations:
order ofoperations 1. Operations in groupingsymbols
2. Exponents &Roots
3. Multiplication&Divisionfromlefttoright
4. Addition&Subtractionfromlefttoright

thepointatwhichthex-
axisandy-axisina
origin
coordinate graph
intersect
GED Mathematics Glossary

valuesofasetofdata
thatfalloutsidethe
outlier
pattern or groupingof
mostofthedata
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Parabola
thecurveformedbythegraphofaquadratic
equation

Parallel lines
linesthatruninthesamedirectionanddonot
cross

Parallelogram
afour-sidedfigurewithtwopairsofparallel
lines

aportionofthewholeor
part base in a percent
problem
 GED Mathematics Glossary

when multiplying numbers

withmore thanonedigit,the
partialproduct result of multiplying the
numberontopbyoneofthe
digitsinthebottomnumber
 GED Mathematics Glossary

awaytoshowapartofa
wholebysettingthewhole
percent equalto100;anumberper
hundred followed by a
percent sign

thedistancearounda
Perimeter
closedplanefigure

relatestotheactofrearranging,or
permuting,allthemembersofaset
intosomesequenceororder(unlike
Permutation combinations, which are selections
ofsomemembersofthesetwhere
order isdisregarded)

Perpendicularlines
lines that intersect at a right angle
GED Mathematics Glossary

Pi
theGreekletterthatrepresentstheratioofthecircumferenceofa
circletoitsdiameter.Theapproximatevalueofpiis3.14or22/7
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thenumberthatadigitstandsfor.
Forexample,in35.6,thedigit3
standsfor30because3isinthe
Place value tensplace.Thedigit6standsfor
6/10because6isinthetenths
place.

Plane
a flat surface

asingle,exactlocation
point oftenrepresentedbya dot

Polygon
aclosedplanefigureformedbythreeormore
linesegmentsthatmeetonlyattheirendpoints
 GED Mathematics Glossary

an expression consisting of
variables and coefficients that
involved only the operations of
polynomial addition, subtraction, multiplication
and non negative integer
exponents
 GED Mathematics Glossary

anumbergreaterthan
Positivenumber
zero

aproductofidenticalfactors.
Forexample,3^2,or"3tothe
Power secondpower"means3x3.
Thebaseis3andthe
exponent is2.

anumberthatisevenly
Primenumber divisibleonlybyitselfand
1

anamountofmoney
principal
borrowed orinvested
GED Mathematics Glossary

Prism
asolidobjectwithtwoidenticalendsandflat
sides
 GED Mathematics Glossary

the chance of an event

happening,usuallyexpressed
Probability astheratioofthenumberof
favorable outcomes to the
totalnumberofoutcomes

the answer to a
Product
multiplicationproblem

afractioninwhichthe
Proper fraction numeratorislessthanthe
denominator

astatementthattwo
Proportion ratios(orfractions)are
equal
 GED Mathematics Glossary

arelationshipbetweentwo
quantitiesinwhichtheratio
proportionalrelationship
(orrate)ofonequantityto
otherquantityisconstant
 GED Mathematics Glossary

PythagoreanTheorem
forarighttriangle,thesquareofthehypotenuseisequaltothesum
[Link]^2+b^2=c^2,
whereaandbarethelegsofarighttriangleandcisthehypotenuse

one-fourth of a
quadrant coordinate grid,formed
bytheintersectingaxes

anequationinwhichat
leastonevariableis
Quadraticequation
raisedtothesecond
power

anexpressioncontaininga
variableraisedtothesecond
quadraticexpression
powerandnovariableraised
toagreaterpower
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Quadrilateral
a closed figure with four sides
 GED Mathematics Glossary

theanswertoadivision
Quotient
problem

thedistancefromthe
Radius centerofacircletoits
circumference

selectedbychance,with
random nooutcomemore likely
than anyother

inalistofdata,the
spreadbetweenthe
range
lowestnumberandthe
highestnumber
GED Mathematics Glossary

thepercentrelationship
rate oftheparttothebasein a
percentproblem
 GED Mathematics Glossary

comparison betweentwo
[Link]
Ratio colon(:),theword"to",or
maybewritteninfraction
form.

an algebraic expression
thathasatleastoneterm
rationalexpression
that is a quotient of
polynomialexpressions

anumberthatcanbewrittenasaratio.
Thatmeansitcanbewrittenasafraction,
inwhichboththenumerator(thenumber
Rationalnumber ontop)andthedenominator(thenumber
onthebottom)[Link]
number8isarationalnumberbecauseit
canbewrittenasthefraction8/1

Rectangle
afour-sidedfigurewithfourrightanglesandwith
twopairsofparallelsides
 GED Mathematics Glossary

RectangularPrism
a3-dimensionalfigureinwhicheachfaceisa
rectangle
 GED Mathematics Glossary

movinganamountfrom
regroup one place-valuecolumn
to another

theamountleftoverina
remainder
divisionproblem

adecimalnumberthat
continues infinitely,
repeatingdecimal
repeatingapatternof
digits

Rhombus
a four-sided figure with four equal sides
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Right angle
an angle that measures exactly 90 degrees
 GED Mathematics Glossary

aprisminwhicheach
lateralfacemeetsthe
rightprism
congruentbasesatright
angles

Righttriangle
a triangle with one right angle

atriangleinwhichone
righttriangle
angleisarightangle

makinganestimatethatis
Rounding close to an original
amount
GED Mathematics Glossary

theunitsontheaxisofa
graph; the equivalency (ratio)
scale of drawn measurements to
the corresponding actual
measurements
 GED Mathematics Glossary

adiagramofanobjectwithall
distances in proportion to
correspondingdistancesonthe
scale drawing actualobject;adrawingofthe
sameshapebutadifferentsize
than theactual

visual presentation of
scatter plot data plotted on a
coordinateplane

anumberwrittenasthe
productofanumber
Scientificnotation
between1and10anda
power of10

positive&negative
signednumbers
numbers
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Similarfigures
geometricfigureswiththesameshapebutnot
necessarily the same size
 GED Mathematics Glossary

a fee charged for borrowing

money (or earned for
simpleinterest investing money) for a
particularperiodoftime;=
principal x rate x time

theformofafractioninwhich
the only integer that divides
simplestfractionalform the numerator and
denominator without
remainderis1 or-1

performing all the

simplifyinganexpression operationsyoucanwithin
an algebraicexpression

Slope
themeasureofthe"steepness"[Link]
slopeisdefinedasthechangeinyvaluesdividedbythechangeinx
values.
 GED Mathematics Glossary

anequationof alinethat
takes the following form
slope-interceptformofa
y=mx+b,wheremisthe slope
line
and b is the y intercept
 GED Mathematics Glossary

an ordered pair that

solutionofasystem satisfiesallequationsofa
system

findthenumberthat
makes a statement,
solve
algebraic expressionor
equationtrue

Sphere
a3-dimensionalfigureeachpointofwhichisan
equaldistancefromthecenter

Square
afour-sidedfigurewithfourrightangles,four
equalsides,andtwopairsofparallelsides
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Squarepyramid
a3-dimensionalfigurewhosebaseisasquareandeachofwhose
fourtriangularfacesmeetaacommonpointcalledthevertex
 GED Mathematics Glossary

oneoftwoequalfactors
Square root
of anumber

unitusedtomeasurethe
square unit
areaofa2Dfigure

solvingoneequationinasystem
for one variable and then
substituting the resulting
substitutionmethod expressionforthatvariablein
ordertogetanequationinone
variable

numericaloperationused
totakeawayaquantity
subtract/subtraction
fromanotherquantity;
find adifference
GED Mathematics Glossary

theanswertoanaddition
Sum
problem
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Surfacearea
thetotalareaofthesurfaceofathree-
dimensionalobject

two or more linear

systemoflinearequations equations with thesame
variables

anumberoranumber and
one or more
term
variablesoravariable
raisedtoapower

Trapezoid
afour-sidedfigurewithonepairofparallel
sides
GED Mathematics Glossary

Triangle
aclosedplanefigurewiththreesidesandthree
angles
 GED Mathematics Glossary

unit price thecostofoneitem

describeshowmanyunitsofthefirst
typeofquantitycorrespondstoone
unitofthesecondtypeofquantity.
Unit rate Somecommonunitratesaremiles(or
kilometers)perhour,costperitem,
earningsperweek,etc.

asymbol,usuallyaletter,
UnknownORVariable thatrepresentsasolution
to anequation

fractionswithdifference
unlikefractions
denominators
 GED Mathematics Glossary

medianoftheupperhalf
upperquartile
ofdataindataset
 GED Mathematics Glossary

Vertex
thepointwheretwosidesofaclosedfigureor
twosidesofananglemeet

scaletherunsalongthe
sideortoptobottomon
verticalaxis
agraphorcoordinate
grid

Volume
theamountofspaceinsidea3-dimensional
figure,usuallymeasuredincubicunits

a number that isevenly

Whole number
divisible by 1
GED Mathematics Glossary

thehorizontalaxisona
x-axis
coordinategraph
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thefirstnumberinan
orderedpair;thedistance
x-coordinate
fromtheoriginalongthe
x-axis

thepointatwhichaline
crossesthex-axisona
x-intercept
coordinate graph; the
orderedpair(x,0)

theverticalaxisina
y-axis
coordinategraph

thesecondnumberinan
orderedpair;thedistance
y- coordinate
fromtheoriginalongthe
y-axis
 GED Mathematics Glossary

thepointatwhichaline
crossesthey-axisona
y-intercept
coordinate graph; the
orderedpair(0,y)