Math tutors are valuable for children of all ages. Sign up for math tutoring and get started with our proven system to increase math knowledge.
The short version A term in math is a single number, a single variable, or numbers and variables multiplied together. Terms are separated by + and – signs. In 4x² – 7x + 2 there are three terms: 4x², -7x and 2. The sign in front belongs to the term. A term has parts: the…
The short version Regrouping means trading between place values: 10 ones become 1 ten, 10 tens become 1 hundred, and the reverse. It keeps every column to a single digit. In addition, you regroup (carry) when a column adds up to 10 or more. In 58 + 27, the ones make 15, so you write…
The short version Adjacent angles are two angles that share a vertex and a side and don’t overlap. Picture one angle sitting right next to the other, like two slices of the same pie. All three conditions have to be true. Two angles that only touch at the corner point (like vertical angles) are not…
The short version A rigid transformation moves a shape without changing its size or shape. Every side length and every angle stays the same. There are three basic rigid transformations: translation (slide), reflection (flip), and rotation (turn). Any combination of them is also rigid. Dilation is the one that isn’t rigid, because it stretches or…
The short version erty The inverse property says that when you combine a number with its inverse, you get the identity number for that operation. Under addition, a number plus its opposite equals 0: a + (-a) = 0. Under multiplication, a number times its reciprocal equals 1: a × 1/a = 1, as long…
The short version A straight angle measures exactly 180°. It looks like a straight line with a point (the vertex) marked on it, and its two sides point in opposite directions. A straight angle is half of a full turn and equals two right angles put together. Any angles that sit side by side on…
The short version A proportion says two ratios are equal, like 3/4 = x/12. To solve it, cross multiply (3 × 12 = 4 × x), then divide to get x by itself: 36 = 4x, so x = 9. If one ratio is a simple multiple of the other, you can skip cross multiplication…
The short version A number bond shows how a number (the whole) splits into two parts. For 10, one bond is 6 and 4, because 6 + 4 = 10. It’s usually drawn as three connected circles: the whole in one circle, and a line to each part. One number bond gives four facts. The…
The short version You can’t divide by zero. Any number divided by zero is undefined, because no number times 0 gives you back the number you started with. Zero divided by a number is fine. 0 ÷ 5 = 0, since 0 × 5 = 0. Kids mix these two up all the time. 0…
The short version An altitude is a line segment from a vertex of a shape that meets the opposite side (or the line that side sits on) at a right angle. Its length is the shape’s height. Every triangle has three altitudes, one from each corner. They can sit inside the triangle, lie along a…