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Subset A small subset taken from a larger set. Tangent (i) A straight line outside a circle that just touches the circle at one point
on its circumference. The angle between the tangent and the radius at that point is
e.g. A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} B = {3, 5, 7} 900.

B is a subset of A or B⊂ A
Tangent
Straight line The path between two points giving the shortest distance.

Subtraction The operation of reducing a number by another number. The

opposite of addition.

Sum (i) Any of the operations addition, subtraction, multiplication or division

applied to two or more numbers.
(ii) Another word for total.
(ii) (Abbreviation 'tan') In a right angled triangle, the tangent of an angle
e.g. The sum of 6, 4 and 9 is 19. is the length of the opposite side to the angle divided by the length of the adjacent
side.
Supplementary Angles Angles which add up to 1800. Opposite angles in a A
cyclic quadrilateral are supplementary.
c
c b Tan C =
a
Surface Area The total area of all the faces (flat or curved) of a three-
dimensional shape such as a cuboid or a cylinder.
B a C
Symmetry (i) Reflective symmetry. The idea that some shapes, when divided
down the middle, give two halves, one of which is a reflection of the other. The line Term A term is part of a function or equation. Terms are separated from each other
through the middle is called the axis of symmetry and some shapes have more than by addition or subtraction signs.
one axis of symmetry.
e.g. The function 4x2 + 3x – 7 has three terms.
This shape has two axes of symmetry.
Tessellation An arrangement of the same shape repeatedly in the same way as
tiling, so that there are no gaps between the shapes. There should be a repeated
pattern so that the process may be carried on to cover an infinitely large surface.

Some shapes obviously tessellate such as squares or rectangles which may be

seen as tiles in kitchens or bathrooms. Some shapes tessellate, but this may not be
obvious (for example, all quadrilaterals will tessellate - even non-convex ones!).
Some shapes such as regular octagons may look as though they should tessellate,
Tally A method or recording counting in which a line is drawn for each number but do not.
counted. These are drawn in groups of five with the first four vertical and the fifth
horizontal.

e.g. This tally represents 23:

Regular Hexagons Regular Octagons

will tessellate leave small squares between
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Tetrahedron A polyhedron with four faces, each being a triangle. Travel Graph A graph with time on the horizontal axis and distance travelled on
A regular tetrahedron has equilateral triangles for all its faces. the vertical axis.

Therefore Shown by the sign , therefore indicates the next logical step in a Trial and Improvement Method A method used for solving problems where
proof or explanation. the exact answer is not easy to find straight away.

e.g. 6p = 18 p=3 First make an intelligent guess as the answer. Then improve this 'guess' until your
answer is accurate enough.

Three Dimensional A three dimensional shape is a shape that has length, e.g. Find the square root of 12.
width and height. You can think of it as a shape that you can hold in your hand such Guess 3.5
as a cube, a cone or a model elephant. 3.52 = 12. 25 Too large, so guess 3.4
3.42 = 11.56 Too small, so guess 3.43
3.432 = 11.7649 Too small, so guess 3.44
Topology A branch of mathematics concerned with shape. In topology, the sizes of 3.442 = 11.8336 Too small, so guess 3.46
angles and the lengths of lines are not important. What is studied is the ways in which 3.462 = 11.9716 Too small, so guess 3.47
lines (arcs) connect and the relationships between areas (regions). Typical problems 3.472 = 12.0409 Too large, so guess 3.465
in topology concern whether shapes may be drawn without taking the pencil off the
paper or if maps can be coloured with a certain number of colours (see four colour Keep going until your answer is accurate enough.
problem). One practical use, for example, is in the designing of underground railway
maps.
Triangle A polygon with three sides.
Total (Also called 'sum'). The answer when you add some numbers together.
Triangle Numbers The following sequence of numbers:
e.g. The total of 4, 7 and 3 is 14.
1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, 55, ...

Transformation The process of changing a figure's position or shape. The most These are the numbers that may be arranged as triangles using suitable objects.
common transformations are reflection, rotation, translation and enlargement. X X X X X
XX XX XX XX XX
XXX XXX XXX XXX etc.
Transcendental Number A number that cannot be obtained by solving an XXXX XXXX XXXX
equation. XXXXX XXXXX

π
XXXXXX
e.g. (Pi)
Trigonometry The branch of mathematics concerned with finding the values of
Translation The movement of a shape in a straight line. This can be in any angles and lengths in diagrams. Trigonometry uses sines, cosines and tangents.
direction and any distance.
Turtle Turtles come in two forms. The first is a model containing motors connected
Transversal A line crossing two (normally parallel) lines. to wheels, which in turn is connected to a computer. The second is a symbol
(normally an arrow) drawn on a computer screen.

Trapezium A quadrilateral with two parallel sides. Both types move, following instructions from the computer operator, often using a
language called LOGO.
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Twenty Four Hour Clock The twenty four clock does not divide the day into Universal Set The set of everything you are going to think about in a particular
two periods of twelve hours each. Midnight is 0000, noon is 1200 and six o'clock in situation. For example, the Universal Set in a problem may be all the people in one
the afternoon is 1800, for example. class in a school. In another problem it may be the plants sold by a particular
garden centre.
Minutes are included as normal. 2124 means 24 minutes past 9 o'clock in the
evening. The important idea about a Universal Set is that once you have said what it is in a
particular situation, you should not be tempted to talk about anything outside it,
The twenty four hour time is always written as four figures. This system is mainly when drawing a Venn Diagram, for instance.
used to avoid confusion about whether a time is in the morning or afternoon, for
example in the army or on bus and train timetables.
Value The amount of a quantity or the answer when numbers are put into a
formula.
Twin Primes A pair of prime numbers that are only two apart, such as 29 and 31. e.g. 'The value on the time axis on the graph is 13 seconds.'
Many thousands of pairs of twin primes are known, but it is not known if there is an
infinite number of them! e.g. 'The value of 3x + 5 when x = 7 is 26.'

Two Dimensional A two dimensional shape is a shape that has length and Vector A value that has quantity and direction. Force is vector because not only is
width or length and height only (it has no thickness). Two dimensional shapes are it measured in newtons, but a force is in a particular direction. See also scalar.
often drawn on paper and include triangles, squares and pictures of elephants.
Venn Diagram A diagram used in set theory to show how sets intersect
Union The process of joining together two or more sets. (overlap). The large rectangle represents the Universal Set (everything you are
going to think about in a particular problem). The circles represent individual sets.
e.g. A = {red, green, blue, orange, pink} and B = {yellow, pink, black}

A  B = {red, green, blue, orange, pink, yellow, black}

A B
On a Venn Diagram:

A B
C

Vertex (plural 'vertices') One of the 'corners' on a polyhedron. A cube, for

example, has eight vertices.
The shaded area represents A  B

Unit (i) The last digit in a whole number. The figure before the decimal point. Vertical (i) A line or object standing straight up, at right angles to the Earth's
We talk about the 'units column'. surface or horizon.

(ii) A standard quantity used for measurement. (ii) A line at right angles to the base of a shape such as a triangle or pyramid.
EG. metre, newton, gram, second.

(iii) The number of items that are sold together or packaged together. Vertical line

e.g. 'These light bulbs are sold in units of ten.' Base

(iv) A kilowatt hour - used for the sale of electricity.
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Vertically Opposite Angles Angles opposite to each other across a pair of

intersecting lines.

The two arrowed angles in this diagram are vertically opposite. Vertically opposite
angles are equal in value.

Volume The amount of space taken up by an object or the amount of space inside
an empty object. Because space is three dimensional (it has length, width and
height) it has cubic units. In the metric system the units of volume are mm3, cm3,
and m3. The litre is also a metric measurement of volume and is the same as 1000
cm3.

Vulgar Fraction A fraction written as one whole number over another, rather
than as a decimal.

Weight Weight is the force by which gravity pulls an object downwards. It is

measured in newtons. A one kilogram mass is pulled down by the Earth with a force
of approximately ten Newtons. A child having a mass of 36 Kg would therefore have
a weight on the Earth of about 360 Newtons. On the Moon, where the force of
gravity is about one sixth that of the Earth's, the same child would weigh about 60
Newtons, although his mass would still be 36Kg.

West To face west, begin by facing north and make a 90o turn
anti-clockwise.

Whole Number A number with no fractional or decimal part. Whole numbers

may be positive, negative or zero. Technically they are referred to as integers.

x-axis and y-axis When drawing a line graph, the axes are normally given single
letters as names. There are no rules about what names to give them and the names
chosen should reflect the measurement on the axis. For example, t is nearly always
used for time, d may be used for distance and f for force.

However, when the axes do not refer to any particular measurements, we often call
them the x-axis and the y-axis and the x-axis is nearly always the horizontal one.