This week I learned/reviewed math vocabulary. For example:

Coefficient 

The number in front of a variable

eg:

7 is the coefficient.

Constant 

The number by itself.

13 is the constant.

Variable 

A letter representing a number.

The variables are x, y, and z.

Monomial

A polynomial with only one term. Mono means one in latin, mial means term.

19x by itself is one term, so its a monomial.

Binomial 

Two term polynomial.

Hint: Polynomials are always separated by “+” or  “-”

Since there is a plus sign in the middle (+), we know its two different terms.

Polynomial

Poly means more than one in latin. If an equation has more than three terms, it is identified as a polynomial.

Leading Coefficient 

The number that’s in front of the variable with the highest degree.

The leading coefficient is  2yx.

Descending powers

Terms that only have one variable are usually organized ascending/descending order. Here, it is organized by the highest to lowest degree.

Random order:

Descending order:

Ascending powers 

Organized by the lowest to highest degree.

Random order:

Ascending order:

 

all examples by me 🙂