Term (mathematics)
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The word term is from the Latin terminus which literally means "boundary line, limit", from the Proto-Indo-European root *ter- "peg, post, boundary".
In elementary mathematics, a term is either a single number or variable, or the product of several numbers and/or variables separated from another term by a + or - sign in an overall expression. For example, in
- 3 + 4x + 5yzw
3, 4x, and 5yzw are all terms. a
In the context of polynomials, sometimes term is used of a monomial with a coefficient: to 'collect like terms' in a polynomial is the basic operation of making it a linear combination of distinct monomials.
A series is often represented as the sum of a sequence of terms.
In general mathematical use, however, the word "term" is not limited to additive terms. Individual factors in an expression representing a product would be multiplicative terms. Indeed, individual elements of any mathematical expression may be referred to as terms.
Terms in first order logic constitute another use of the word.
[edit] Specific names for terms
- addition and subtraction
-
- Addend
- Subtrahend and minuend are the first and second terms, respectively, in subtraction
- multiplication
- Factor. In a multiplication of two factors, the first is called the multiplicand and the second is called the multiplier.
- divisions and fractions
- The top of a division is called the numerator (or dividend), and the bottom is called the denominator (or divisor).
[edit] References
- Schwartzman, Steven (1994). The words of mathematics: An etymological dictionary of mathematical terms used in English. The Mathematical Association of America. pp. 219. ISBN 0-88385-511-9.
[edit] See also
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