Key Terms Chapter 01: Foundations

absolute value | The absolute value of a number is its distance from on the number line.

additive identity | The number is the additive identity because adding to any number does not change its value.

additive inverse | The opposite of a number is its additive inverse.

coefficient | The coefficient of a term is the constant that multiplies the variable in a term.

complex fraction | A fraction in which the numerator or the denominator is a fraction is called a complex fraction.

composite number | A composite number is a counting number that is not prime. It has factors other than and the number itself.

constant | A constant is a number whose value always stays the same.

denominator | In a fraction, written , where , the denominator is the number of equal parts the whole has been divided into.

divisible by a number | If a number is a multiple of , then is divisible by .

equation | An equation is two expressions connected by an equal sign.

equivalent fractions | Equivalent fractions are fractions that have the same value.

evaluate an expression | To evaluate an expression means to find the value of the expression when the variables are replaced by given numbers.

expression | An expression is a number, a variable, or a combination of numbers and variables using operation symbols.

factors | If , then and are factors of .

fraction | A fraction is written , where , and is the numerator and is the denominator. A fraction represents parts of a whole.

integers | The whole numbers and their opposites are called the integers.

irrational number | An irrational number is a number that cannot be written as the ratio of two integers. Its decimal form does not stop and does not repeat.

least common denominator | The least common denominator (LCD) of two fractions is the least common multiple (LCM) of their denominators.

least common multiple | The least common multiple (LCM) of two numbers is the smallest number that is a multiple of both numbers.

like terms | Terms that are either constants or have the same variables raised to the same powers are called like terms.

multiple of a number | A number is a multiple of if it is the product of a counting number and .

multiplicative identity | The number is the multiplicative identity because multiplying by any number does not change its value.

multiplicative inverse | The reciprocal of a number is its multiplicative inverse.

negative numbers | Numbers less than are negative numbers.

numerator | In a fraction, written , where , the numerator a indicates how many parts are included.

opposite | The opposite of a number is the number that is the same distance from zero on the number line but on the opposite side of zero.

order of operations | The order of operations are established guidelines for simplifying an expression.

percent | A percent is a ratio whose denominator is .

prime factorization | The prime factorization of a number is the product of prime numbers that equals the number.

prime number | A prime number is a counting number greater than whose only factors are and the number itself.

principal square root | The positive square root is called the principal square root.

rational number | A rational number is a number of the form , where and are integers and . Its decimal form stops or repeats.

real number | A real number is a number that is either rational or irrational.

reciprocal | The reciprocal of a fraction is found by inverting the fraction, placing the numerator in the denominator and the denominator in the numerator.

simplify an expression | To simplify an expression means to do all the math possible.

square of a number | If , then is the square of .

square root of a number | If , then is a square root of .

term | A term is a constant, or the product of a constant and one or more variables.

variable | A variable is a letter that represents a number whose value may change.