B - Math terms glossary

bar graph A graph in which information is represented using bars of various lengths to show values of a particular category.

base  Given , or x^n, the "x" is the base. The base number gets multiplied by itself the number of times indicated by the exponent, "n".

Ex:
2^3 = 2x2x2.

base of a triangle  The side of a triangle to which an altitude is drawn.

bases of a trapezoid The parallel sides of a trapezoid.

base angles of an isosceles triangle Two angles of an isosceles triangle whose vertices are the endpoints of the base of the triangle.

The base angles on an isosceles triangle are congruent.

base angles of a trapezoid Two angles whose vertices are the endpoints of a base of the trapezoid.

The base angles on an isosceles trapezoid are congruent. In this example, angles A and B are congruent base angles as are angles D and C.

base of an isosceles triangle The side opposite the vertex angle.

betweenness of numbers A number is between two others if it is greater than one of them and less than the other.

betweenness of points A point is between two other points on the same line if its coordinate is between their coordinates.

biconditional statement A statement that includes a conditional and its converse. It may be written in the form p=>q and q=>p, or p<=>q, or "p if and only if q."

Ex:
It is raining if and only if drops of water are falling from the sky.
This statement is a biconditional because it is true when read front to back and also when it is read back to front, its converse;
Drops of water are falling from the sky if and only if it is raining.

A good definition consists of a true conditional and its converse, which also must be true. So biconditional statements are important to find.

bilateral symmetry A space figure has bilateral symmetry if and only if there is a plane over which the reflection image of the figure is the figure itself.

billion  A word name for 1,000,000,000 or .

billionth  A word for 0.000000001 or x^-9.

binomial An algebraic expression with exactly two terms.

Ex:
x+2
x^2 - 4
3x^2y + 7x

bisector A point, line, ray, or plane which divides a segment, angle,or figure into two parts of equal measure.

bisector of an angle The ray in the interior of an angle that divides the angle into two angles of equal measures.

bisector of a segment A line, ray, or segment which intersects a segment at its midpoint but does not contain the segment.

box A a right prism whose faces are rectangles.

brackets [ ] Grouping symbols which serve the same role as parentheses.