Glossary
Effortlessly navigate the QCAA General Mathematics Glossary to find and understand key terms and concepts
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A
ATAR
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
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Accomplished
Highly trained or skilled in a particular activity; perfected in knowledge or training; expert
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Accuracy
The condition or quality of being true, correct or exact; freedom from error or defect; precision or exactness; correctness; in science, the extent to which a measurement result represents the quantity it purports to measure; an accurate measurement result includes an estimate of the true value and an estimate of the uncertainty
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Accurate
Precise and exact; to the point; consistent with or exactly conforming to a truth, standard, rule, model, convention or known facts; free from error or defect; meticulous; correct in all details
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Adept
Very/highly skilled or proficient at something; expert
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Adequate
Satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity equal to the requirement or occasion
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Adjacency Matrix
An adjacency matrix for a non-directed graph with n vertices is an n x n matrix in which the entry in row i and column j is the number of edges joining the vertices i and j; in an adjacency matrix, a loop is counted as one edge; for a directed graph, the entry in row i and column j is the number of directed edges (arcs) joining the vertex i and j in the direction i to j
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Algorithm
A precisely defined procedure that can be applied and systematically followed through to a conclusion
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Analyse
Dissect to ascertain and examine constituent parts and/or their relationships; break down or examine in order to identify the essential elements, features, components or structure; determine the logic and reasonableness of information; examine or consider something in order to explain and interpret it, for the purpose of finding meaning or relationships and identifying patterns, similarities and differences
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Analytic Procedures
Using algebraic and/or numerical techniques as the primary approach to solving a problem
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Annuity
A compound interest investment from which payments are made on a regular basis for a defined period of time
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Applied Learning
The acquisition and application of knowledge, understanding and skills in real-world or lifelike contexts that may encompass workplace, industry and community situations; it emphasises learning through doing and includes both theory and the application of theory, connecting subject knowledge and understanding with the development of practical skills
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Applied subject
A subject whose primary pathway is work and vocational education; it emphasises applied learning and community connections; a subject for which a syllabus has been developed by the QCAA with the following characteristics: results from courses developed from Applied syllabuses contribute to the QCE; results may contribute to ATAR calculations
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Apply
Use knowledge and understanding in response to a given situation or circumstance; carry out or use a procedure in a given or particular situation
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Appraise
Evaluate the worth, significance or status of something; judge or consider a text or piece of work
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Appreciate
Recognise or make a judgment about the value or worth of something; understand fully; grasp the full implications of
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Appropriate
Acceptable; suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, circumstance, context, etc.
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Apt
Suitable to the purpose or occasion; fitting, appropriate
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Area of study
A division of, or a section within a unit
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Argue
Give reasons for or against something; challenge or debate an issue or idea; persuade, prove or try to prove by giving reasons
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Arithmetic sequence
A sequence of numbers such that the difference between any two successive numbers of the sequence is constant, e.g. the sequence 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, ... is an arithmetic sequence with first term 2 and common difference 3, by inspection of the sequence, the rule for the nth term \( t_n \) of this sequence is \( t_n = 2 + (n - 1)3 = 3n - 1, n \geq 1 \); if \( t_n \) is used to denote the \( n \)th term in the sequence, then a recursion relation that will generate this sequence is \( t_{n+1} = t_n + 3, n \geq 1 \)
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Aspect
A particular part of a feature of something; a facet, phase or part of a whole
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Assess
Measure, determine, evaluate, estimate or make a judgment about the value, quality, outcomes, results, size, significance, nature or extent of something
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Assessment
Purposeful and systematic collection of information about students' achievements
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Assessment instrument
A tool or device used to gather information about student achievement
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Assessment objectives
Drawn from the unit objectives and contextualised for the requirements of the assessment instrument (see also
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Assessment technique
The method used to gather evidence about student achievement, (e.g. examination, project, investigation)
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Association
A general term used to describe the relationship between two (or more) variables; often used interchangeably with
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Assumptions
Conditions that are stated to be true when beginning to solve a problem
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Astute
Showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people; of keen discernment
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Authoritative
Able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable; commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed
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Average percentage method
Used for calculating a seasonal index, the data for each season are expressed as percentages of the average for the year; the percentages for the corresponding seasons for different years are then averaged using a mean or median to arrive at a seasonal index
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B
Balanced
Keeping or showing a balance; not biased; fairly judged or presented; taking everything into account in a fair, well-judged way
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Basic
Fundamental
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Bearing
The direction of a fixed point, or the path of an object, from the point of observation
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Bipartite graph
A graph whose set of vertices can be split into two distinct groups in such a way that each edge of the graph joins a vertex in the first group to a vertex in the second group
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Break-even point
The point at which revenue begins to exceed costs
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Bridge
A bridge is an edge in a connected graph that, if removed, leaves a graph disconnected
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C
Calculate
Determine or find (e.g. a number, answer) by using mathematical processes; obtain a numerical answer showing the relevant stages in the working; ascertain/determine from given facts, figures or information
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Categorical variable
A variable whose values are categories, e.g. favourite colour, type of pet
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Categorise
Place in or assign to a particular class or group; arrange or order by classes or categories; classify, sort out, sort, separate
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Causal relationship
A relationship between an explanatory variable and a response variable is said to be causal if the change in the explanatory variable causes a change in the response variable
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Challenging
Difficult but interesting; testing one
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Characteristic
A typical feature or quality
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Clarify
Make clear or intelligible; explain; make a statement or situation less confused and more comprehensible
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Clarity
Clearness of thought or expression; the quality of being coherent and intelligible; free from obscurity of sense; without ambiguity; explicit; easy to perceive, understand or interpret
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Classify
Arrange, distribute or order in classes or categories according to shared qualities or characteristics
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Clear
Free from confusion, uncertainty, or doubt; easily seen, heard or understood
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Clearly
In a clear manner; plainly and openly, without ambiguity
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Coefficient of Determination
In a linear model between two variables, the coefficient of determination (\(R^2\)) is the proportion of the total variation that can be explained by the linear relationship existing between the two variables, usually expressed as a percentage
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Coherent
Having a natural or due agreement of parts; connected, consistent, logical, orderly; well-structured and makes sense; rational; with parts that are harmonious; having an internally consistent relation of parts
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Cohesive
Characterised by being united, bound together or having integrated meaning; forming a united whole
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Column Matrix
A matrix that has only one column
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Comment
Express an opinion, observation or reaction in speech or writing; give a judgment based on a given statement or result of a calculation
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Communicate
Convey knowledge and/or understandings to others; make known; transmit
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Compare
Display recognition of similarities and differences and recognise the significance of these similarities and differences
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Competent
Having suitable or sufficient skills, knowledge, experience, etc. for some purpose; adequate but not exceptional; capable; suitable or sufficient for the purpose; having the necessary ability, knowledge or skill to do something successfully; efficient and capable (of a person); acceptable and satisfactory, though not outstanding
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Competently
In an efficient and capable way; in an acceptable and satisfactory, though not outstanding, way
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Complete Graph
A simple graph in which every vertex is joined to every other vertex by an edge; a complete graph with \(n\) vertices is denoted \(K_n\)
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Complex
Composed or consisting of many different and interconnected parts or factors; compound; composite; characterized by an involved combination of parts; complicated; intricate; a complex whole or system; a complicated assembly of particulars
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Complex familiar
Problems of this degree of difficulty require students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and application of skills in a situation where: relationships and interactions have a number of elements, such that connections are made with subject matter within and/or across the domains of mathematics; and all of the information to solve the problem is identifiable; that is the required procedure is clear from the way the problem is posed, or in a context that has been a focus of prior learning. Some interpretation, clarification and analysis will be required to develop responses. These problems can focus on any of the objectives
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Complex unfamiliar
Problems of this degree of difficulty require students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and application of skills in a situation where: relationships and interactions have a number of elements, such that connections are made with subject matter within and/or across the domains of mathematics; and all the information to solve the problem is not immediately identifiable; that is the required procedure is not clear from the way the problem is posed, and in a context in which students have had limited prior experience. Students interpret, clarify and analyse problems to develop responses. Typically, these problems focus on objectives 4, 5 and 6.
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Compound interest
The interest earned when each successive interest payment is added to the principal for the purpose of calculating the next interest payment, e.g. if the principal \( P \) earns compound interest \( A \) at the rate of \( i\% \) per period, then after \( n \) periods the total amount accrued is \( A = P(1 + i)^n \). When plotted on a graph, the total amount accrued is shown to grow exponentially
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Comprehend
Understand the meaning or nature of; grasp mentally
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Comprehensive
Inclusive; of large content or scope; including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something; wide-ranging; detailed and thorough, including all that is relevant
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Concise
Expressing much in few words; giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief, comprehensive and to the point; succinct, clear, without repetition of information
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Concisely
In a way that is brief but comprehensive; expressing much in few words; clearly and succinctly
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Conduct
Direct in action or course; manage; organise; carry out
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Connected Graph
A graph is connected if there is a path between each pair of vertices
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Consider
Think deliberately or carefully about something, typically before making a decision; take something into account when making a judgment; view attentively or scrutinise; reflect on
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Considerable
Fairly large or great; thought about deliberately and with a purpose
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Considered
Formed after careful and deliberate thought
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Consistent
Agreeing or accordant; compatible; not self-opposed or self-contradictory, constantly adhering to the same principles; acting in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate; unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time; not containing any logical contradictions (of an argument); constant in achievement or effect over a period of time
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Construct
Create or put together (e.g. an argument) by arranging ideas or items; display information in a diagrammatic or logical form; make; build
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Continuous Variable
A numerical variable that can take any value that lies within an interval, e.g. height or reaction time
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Contrast
Display recognition of differences by deliberate juxtaposition of contrary elements; show how things are different or opposite; give an account of the differences between two or more items or situations, referring to both or all of them throughout
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Controlled
Shows the exercise of restraint or direction over; held in check; restrained, managed or kept within certain bounds
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Convention
The generally agreed upon way in which something is done; in a mathematical context this refers to notation symbols, abbreviations, usage and setting out
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Convincing
Persuaded by argument or proof; leaving no margin of doubt; clear; capable of causing someone to believe that something is true or real; persuading or assuring by argument or evidence; appearing worthy of belief; credible or plausible
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Coordinated Universal Time
UTC; a system of time measurement used to regulate time and clocks around the world, based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the earth's slowing rotation; except in highly technical situations, regarded as equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time; initiated in 1961 and adopted internationally in 1972
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Correlation Coefficient
The correlation coefficient (\(r\)) is a measure of the strength of the linear relationship between a pair of variables; for variables \( x \) and \( y \), and computed for \( n \) cases, the formula for \( r \) is \( r = \frac{1}{n-1} \sum (\frac{x_i - \bar{x}}{s_x})(\frac{y_i - \bar{y}}{s_y}) \)
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Cosine Rule
For a triangle of side lengths \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\), and corresponding angles \(A\), \(B\), and \(C\), the cosine rule states that \(c^2 = a^2 + b^2 − 2ab \cos C\)
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Course
A defined amount of learning developed from a subject syllabus
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Create
Bring something into being or existence; produce or evolve from one's own thought or imagination; reorganise or put elements together into a new pattern or structure or to form a coherent or functional whole
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Creative
Resulting from originality of thought or expression; relating to or involving the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something; having good imagination or original ideas
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Credible
Capable or worthy of being believed; believable; convincing
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Criterion
The property or characteristic by which something is judged or appraised
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Critical
Involving skilful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.; involving the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment; expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art; incorporating a detailed and scholarly analysis and commentary (of a text); rationally appraising for logical consistency and merit
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Critical Path Analysis
A project often involves many related activities, some of which cannot be started until one or more earlier tasks have been completed, one way of scheduling such activities that takes this into account is to construct a network diagram
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Critique
Review (e.g. a theory, practice, performance) in a detailed, analytical and critical way
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Cursory
Hasty, and therefore not thorough or detailed; performed with little attention to detail; going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial
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D
Decide
Reach a resolution as a result of consideration; make a choice from a number of alternatives
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Deduce
Reach a conclusion that is necessarily true, provided a given set of assumptions is true; arrive at, reach or draw a logical conclusion from reasoning and the information given
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Defensible
Justifiable by argument; capable of being defended in argument
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Define
Give the meaning of a word, phrase, concept or physical quantity; state meaning and identify or describe qualities
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Degree of a Vertex
In a graph, the degree of a vertex is the number of edges incident with the vertex, with loops counted twice
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Demonstrate
Prove or make clear by argument, reasoning or evidence, illustrating with practical example; show by example; give a practical exhibition
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Derive
Arrive at by reasoning; manipulate a mathematical relationship to give a new equation or relationship; in mathematics, obtain the derivative of a function
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Describe
Give an account (written or spoken) of a situation, event, pattern or process, or of the characteristics or features of something
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Design
Produce a plan, simulation, model or similar; plan, form or conceive in the mind; In English, select, organise and use particular elements in the process of text construction for particular purposes; these elements may be linguistic (words), visual (images), audio (sounds), gestural (body language), spatial (arrangement on the page or screen) and multimodal (a combination of more than one)
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Detailed
Executed with great attention to the fine points; meticulous; including many of the parts or facts
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Determine
Establish, conclude or ascertain after consideration, observation, investigation or calculation; decide or come to a resolution
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Develop
Elaborate, expand or enlarge in detail; add detail and fullness to; cause to become more complex or intricate
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Devise
Think out; plan; contrive; invent
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Differentiate
Identify the difference/s in or between two or more things; distinguish, discriminate; recognise or ascertain what makes something distinct from similar things; In mathematics, obtain the derivative of a function
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Directed Graph
A diagram comprising points, called vertices, joined by directed lines called arcs; directed graphs are commonly called digraphs
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Discerning
Discriminating; showing intellectual perception; showing good judgment; making thoughtful and astute choices; selected for value or relevance
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Discrete Variable
A numerical variable that can take only certain values, e.g. number of people in a car, shoe size
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Discriminate
Note, observe or recognise a difference; make or constitute a distinction in or between; differentiate; note or distinguish as different
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Discriminating
Differentiating; distinctive; perceiving differences or distinctions with nicety; possessing discrimination; perceptive and judicious; making judgments about quality; having or showing refined taste or good judgment
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Discuss
Examine by argument; sift the considerations for and against; debate; talk or write about a topic, including a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses; consider, taking into account different issues and ideas, points for and/or against, and supporting opinions or conclusions with evidence
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Disjointed
Disconnected; incoherent; lacking a coherent order/sequence or connection
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Distinguish
Recognise as distinct or different; note points of difference between; discriminate; discern; make clear a difference/s between two or more concepts or items
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Diverse
Of various kinds or forms; different from each other
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Document
Support (e.g. an assertion, claim, statement) with evidence (e.g. decisive information, written references, citations)
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Draw conclusions
Make a judgment based on reasoning and evidence
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E
Earliest starting time
Using a forward scan of a network diagram to determine the earliest time an activity can begin
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Effective
Successful in producing the intended, desired or expected result; meeting the assigned purpose
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Effective annual rate of interest
The effective annual rate of interest \(\textit{i}_{effective}\) is used to compare the interest paid on loans (or investments) with the same nominal annual interest rate i but with different compounding periods (daily, monthly, quarterly, annually, other); if the number of compounding periods per annum is n, then \(\textit{i}_{effective} = (1 + \frac{i}{n})^n - 1\)
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Efficient
Working in a well-organised and competent way; maximizing productivity with minimal expenditure of effort; acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense or unnecessary effort
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Element
A component or constituent part of a complex whole; a fundamental, essential or irreducible part of a composite entity
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Elementary
Simple or uncompounded; relating to or dealing with elements, rudiments or first principles (of a subject); of the most basic kind; straightforward and uncomplicated
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Erroneous
Based on or containing error; mistaken; incorrect
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Essential
Absolutely necessary; indispensable; of critical importance for achieving something
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Eulerian graph
A connected graph is Eulerian if it has a closed trail (starts and ends at the same vertex), that is, includes every edge once only, such a trail is called a Eulerian trail; a Eulerian trail may include repeated vertices; a connected graph is semi-Eulerian if there is an open trail that includes every edge once only
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Euler’s formula
For a connected planar graph, Euler's rule states that \(v + f - e = 2\) where \(v =\) number of vertices, \(e =\) number of edges and \(f =\) number of faces
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Evaluate
Make an appraisal by weighing up or assessing strengths, implications and limitations; make judgments about ideas, works, solutions or methods in relation to selected criteria; examine and determine the merit, value or significance of something, based on criteria
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Examination
A supervised test that assesses the application of a range of cognitions to one or more provided items such as questions, scenarios and/or problems; student responses are completed individually, under supervised conditions, and in a set timeframe
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Examine
Investigate, inspect or scrutinise; inquire or search into; consider or discuss an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue
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Experiment
Try out or test new ideas or methods, especially in order to discover or prove something; undertake or perform a scientific procedure to test a hypothesis, make a discovery or demonstrate a known fact
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Explain
Make an idea or situation plain or clear by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts; give an account; provide additional information
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Explanatory Variable
When investigating relationships in bivariate data, the explanatory variable (independent variable) is the variable used to explain or predict a difference in the response variable (dependent variable), e.g. when inv