Algebra VocabularyWondering About Those Jazzy Words? They Are All Here! Why this page on Algebra Vocabulary? Well to put it straight, because algebra learners want it. If you have ever gone for a foreign language course then you will appreciate how important it is to start with the basic words of the language. That is exactly the intention here, to get you started with the basic words of algebra. This is certainly not a page or material that is to be used upfront. Do not spend a lot of time studying this page as that is not going to get you the most of it. Rather it would be a great idea to get back to this page as often and as possible and browse through for any specific term that you encountered while working on some of the algebra chapters. This page is bound to grow into a huge database of definitions accompanied by small examples. In such a case it might be difficult to search the term that you might be looking for. Therefore I will organize the definitions based on topics of algebra. Hope that will help you find the algebra vocabulary you look for easily. Basic Algebra VocabularyConstantA constant is a fixed quantity or value that does not change in the context of a problem. 3, 5, 7, -8 and 1/2 are all constants. It’s pretty logical to understand that the value of 3 will remain the same throughout the problem. Same is the case with 5, 7 and the rest of them for that matter. Variables A variable in algebra vocabulary is defined as a symbol that can have varying values. If the value is unknown then it is assigned to a variable. The value of a variable may change at any point of time and thus it gives an idea of the relationship between various parameters rather than their actual value. Let’s consider one example here. When I say the diameter of the circle is two times the radius then I am not specifying a particular value to either the diameter or the radius. However each of them can be assigned to variables. Thus let’s assign the diameter value to a variable D. Now D is the diameter but then it does not have any specific value. Nevertheless it obeys all rules applicable to any other diameter of a circle. Similarly the radius here may be assigned to a variable r. Now D = 2 * r, clearly explains the relationship between the two parameters. Terms A term is made up of constants and variables. It may contain either or both of them. Some of the examples of terms are given below
All those were different forms that can be called as terms. Coefficients A coefficient is the numeric constant part of a term. Let’s consider the example of 2x. This is a term containing one constant 2 and one variable x. In the example above 2 is called as the coefficient. Similarly in -7y2 Coefficient of the term is -7. Expressions Expressions are nothing but a combination of terms. Different types of terms come together to form expressions. Have a look at the examples below.
Equations Equations are expressions separated by equal sign. Every equation has a left hand side and the right hand side. As both the sides are separated by and equal to (=) symbol, they must eventually satisfy the equality criteria. Here are some examples, 2x + 3y = 15 Observe that there is an expression on either side of the equality expression. The entire set up including the two expressions and the equal sign is called an equation. In this particular equation there are two variables. However there is no such restraint on the number of variables you can have in an equation. This section will be constantly updated with new definitions that you might encounter in algebra lessons. So do check back often. Better still bookmark this page for ready reference.
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