Arithmetic Reasoning Flash Card Set 39730

 Cards 10 Topics Absolute Value, Commutative Property, Defining Exponents, Defining Radicals, Factorials, Rational Numbers, Ratios, Sequence

Study Guide

Absolute Value

The absolute value is the positive magnitude of a particular number or variable and is indicated by two vertical lines: $$\left|-5\right| = 5$$. In the case of a variable absolute value ($$\left|a\right| = 5$$) the value of a can be either positive or negative (a = -5 or a = 5).

Commutative Property

The commutative property states that, when adding or multiplying numbers, the order in which they're added or multiplied does not matter. For example, 3 + 4 and 4 + 3 give the same result, as do 3 x 4 and 4 x 3.

Defining Exponents

An exponent (cbe) consists of coefficient (c) and a base (b) raised to a power (e). The exponent indicates the number of times that the base is multiplied by itself. A base with an exponent of 1 equals the base (b1 = b) and a base with an exponent of 0 equals 1 ( (b0 = 1).

Radicals (or roots) are the opposite operation of applying exponents. With exponents, you're multiplying a base by itself some number of times while with roots you're dividing the base by itself some number of times. A radical term looks like $$\sqrt[d]{r}$$ and consists of a radicand (r) and a degree (d). The degree is the number of times the radicand is divided by itself. If no degree is specified, the degree defaults to 2 (a square root).

Factorials

A factorial has the form n! and is the product of the integer (n) and all the positive integers below it. For example, 5! = 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120.

Rational Numbers

A rational number (or fraction) is represented as a ratio between two integers, a and b, and has the form $${a \over b}$$ where a is the numerator and b is the denominator. An improper fraction ($${5 \over 3}$$) has a numerator with a greater absolute value than the denominator and can be converted into a mixed number ($$1 {2 \over 3}$$) which has a whole number part and a fractional part.

Ratios

Ratios relate one quantity to another and are presented using a colon or as a fraction. For example, 2:3 or $${2 \over 3}$$ would be the ratio of red to green marbles if a jar contained two red marbles for every three green marbles.

Sequence

A sequence is a group of ordered numbers. An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which each successive number is equal to the number before it plus some constant number.