Math Glossary Letter P
palindrome
noun
A word or phrase which reads the same forwards or backwards
parabola
noun
a plane curve which is approximately U-shaped
parallel lines
noun
two lines which never cross and always the same distance apart
parallel planes
noun
Planes that do not cross
parallel resistors
noun
Resistors where their terminals are connected to the same two nodes
parallelogram
noun
simple quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides.
parametric
noun
defines a group of quantities as functions of one or more independent variables called parameters.
parametric equation
noun
defines a group of quantities as functions of one or more independent variables called parameters.
partial
noun
A part of a whole. Incomplete.
partial quotient
noun
A division algorithm
partial sum
noun
An addition algorithm
partition
noun
a grouping of its elements into non-empty subsets, in such a way that every element is included in exactly one subset.
pascals triangle
noun
a triangular array of the binomial coefficients
password
noun
a secret word or phrase that must be used to gain admission to something
past participle
noun
a participle that typically expresses completed action, that is traditionally one of the principal parts of the verb
payback
noun
the length of time it takes to recover the cost of an investment or the length of time an investor needs to reach a breakeven point
payback period
noun
the number of years required to recover the original cash investment
peak
noun
the maximum value, either positive (pk+) or negative (pk-), that a waveform attains.
pearsons skewness coefficient
noun
the difference between the mean and median, multiplied by three
pedmas
noun
A way to handle the order of operations
pedometer
noun
A device measuring the number of steps you take
pemdas
noun
A way to handle the order of operations
penny
noun
A currency value of one cent
pentagon
noun
a polygon of five angles and five sides
pentagonal number
noun
A number that can be shown as a pentagonal pattern of dots.

n(3n - 1)/2
percent
noun
a specified amount in or for every hundred. one part in every hundred.

n% = n/100
percent error
noun
percentage error between an observed value and the true value of a measurement.
percent off
noun
A discount method to subtract something off a full price
percentage
noun
a specified amount in or for every hundred. one part in every hundred.
percentage change
noun
the change in value divided by the absolute value of the original value, multiplied by 100
percentage of completion
noun
he reporting of revenues and expenses on a period-by-period basis, as determined by the percentage of the contract that has been fulfilled
percentage of the pie
noun
A portion of something
percentile
noun
a score below which a given percentage k of scores in its frequency distribution falls or a score at or below which a given percentage falls.
perfect number
noun
a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its positive divisors, excluding the number itself.
perimeter
noun
The distance around a shape or object
perimeter of quadrilateral
noun
The distance around a quadrilateral
periodic charge
noun
the yearly depreciation amount is divided by the number of periods in the year
periodic rate of return
noun
equals the annual interest rate divided by the number of periods
periodic table
noun
a tabular display of the chemical elements
permutation
noun
a way in which a set or number of things can be ordered or arranged.

nPr = n!/(n - r)!
perpendicular
noun
two lines which intersect to form a right angle
perpendicular bisector
noun
a line or a line segment that divides a given line segment into two parts of equal measurement. Perpendicular bisectors intersect the line segment that they bisect and make four angles of 90° each on both sides
perpetuity
noun
An infinite stream of payments
perpetuity due
noun
An infinite stream of payments occurring at the beginning of each payment period.

Present Value = P/d
perpetuity immediate
noun
An infinite stream of payments occurring at the end of each payment period.

Present Value = P/i
petabyte
noun
An extremely large unit of digital data, one Petabyte is equal to 1,000 Terabytes
phi
noun
A letter of the greek alphabet used for math notation.

Φ  φ
phonetic
noun
a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds
phonetic algorithm
noun
n algorithm for indexing of words by their pronunciation
phonogram
noun
a symbol representing a vocal sound. Phono means sound and gram means picture.
photon
noun
a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation.
physics
noun
the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.
pi
noun
A letter of the greek alphabet used for math notation.

Π  π
picks theorem
noun
a formula for the area of a simple polygon with integer vertex coordinates, in terms of the number of integer points within it and on its boundary

A = i + b/2 - 1
piecewise constant interpolation
noun
A type of interpolation
pint
noun
a unit of liquid or dry capacity equal to one half of a quart.
place value
noun
the numerical value that a digit has by its position in a number.
plane
noun
a flat, two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely
plane equation
noun
An equation to describe the points in a plane
plane geometry
noun
deals in flat shapes that you can draw on a piece of paper, such as squares, circles, and triangles
point
noun
an exact location in the space, and has no length, width, or thickness
point estimate
noun
the process of finding an approximate value of some parameter—such as the mean (average)—of a population from random samples of the population.
point slope form
noun
show you how to find the equation of a line from a point on that line and the line's slope.

y - y1 = m(x - x1)
poisson distribution
noun
a discrete probability distribution that is used to show how many times an event is likely to occur over a specified period.
poker
noun
a game played with cards in which people try to win money from each other.
polar
noun
a two-dimensional coordinate system in which each point on a plane is determined by a distance from a reference point and an angle from a reference direction
polar coordinate
noun
a pair of coordinates locating the position of a point in a plane, the first being the length of the straight line ( r ) connecting the point to the origin, and the second the angle ( θ ) made by this line with a fixed line.
polar equation
noun
any equation that describes a relation between r and θ
polygon
noun
A plane figure bounded by a set of straight lines
polynomial
noun
an expression of more than two algebraic terms, especially the sum of several terms that contain different powers of the same variable(s).
polynomial expansion
noun
multiply out the brackets and then simplify the resulting expression by collecting the like terms
polynomial interpolation
noun
the interpolation of a given data set by the polynomial of lowest possible degree that passes through the points of the dataset.
polynomial long division
noun
an algorithm for dividing a polynomial by another polynomial of the same or lower degree
pool
noun
A tank holding water
population
noun
all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.
population doubling time
noun
The time it takes a population to double in size
portfolio
noun
a range of investments held by a person or organization.
portfolio rate of return
noun
the ratio of the net gain or loss (which is the total of net income, foreign currency appreciation and capital gain, whether realized or not) which a portfolio generates, relative to the size of the portfolio
positive
noun
numbers or values greater than 0
positive difference
noun
means the distance between two numbers
postulate
noun
A statement accepted as true without proof
power
noun
how many times to use the number in a multiplication
power set
noun
he set of all subsets of S, including the empty set and S itself
practical method
noun
A way to price a bond
prealgebra
noun
gives you introductory concepts related to numbers and equations to prepare you for Algebra.
precalculus
noun
a refresher course including a review of topics in algebra and trigonometry necessary to complete Calculus
precision
noun
number of digits in a number
predecessor
noun
The number that comes immediately before an integer.

n - 1
prefix
noun
an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word
prefix multiplier
noun
represent quantities that are orders of magnitude larger than the base unit.
premium
noun
a bond which market value is greater than its face value
present value
noun
the value in the present of a sum of money, in contrast to some future value it will have when it has been invested at compound interest.

PV = FV/(1 + i)n
where I is the interest rate per period, PV = Present Value, and FV = Future Value
pressure
noun
the amount of force exerted per area
pressure law
noun
or a given mass and constant volume of an ideal gas, the pressure exerted on the sides of its container is directly proportional to its absolute temperature

P1/T1 = P2/T2
price
noun
the amount of money expected, required, or given in payment for something
price elasticity
noun
the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded of a product to the percentage change in price.
prime factorization
noun
the prime numbers that divide that integer exactly
prime number
noun
a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers.
prime numbers
noun
Positive numbers with no other factors but 1 and the number itself
prime power decomposition
noun
Factoring a number down to a product of primes
primitive root
noun
if every number a coprime to n is congruent to a power of g modulo n
principal
noun
The amount borrowed on a loan, before interest is charged
probability
noun
the likelihood of an event happening. This value is always between 0 and 1.

P(Event Happening) = Number of Ways the Even Can Happen / Total Number of Outcomes
probability density function
noun
A representation of a continuous probability distribution
product
noun
The answer when two or more values are multiplied together
profit
noun
The amount of money left over after paying costs/expenses

Profit = Revenue - Cost
profit margin
noun
a measure of profitability using profit as a percentage of revenue

(R - C)/R
profitability index
noun
the ratio of payoff to investment of a proposed project. It is a useful tool for ranking projects.
projectile motion
noun
a form of motion experienced by an object or particle that is projected in a gravitational field
projection
noun
the transformation of points and lines in one plane onto another plane by connecting corresponding points on the two planes with parallel lines.
pronumeral
noun
Also known as a variable.
proof
noun
an inferential argument for a mathematical statement, showing that the stated assumptions logically guarantee the conclusion
proper fraction
noun
a fraction which has its numerator value less than the denominator. The value is less than 1
proper noun
noun
a name used for an individual person, place, or organization, spelled with initial capital letters

Don, Brazil, Orlando Magic
property
noun
an attribute, quality, or characteristic of something
proportion
noun
n equation in which two ratios are set equal to each other

a/b = c/d
proposition
noun
a declarative sentence that is either true or false (but not both)
psi
noun
A letter of the greek alphabet used for math notation.

Ψ  ψ
punnett square
noun
a square diagram that is used to predict the genotypes of a particular cross or breeding experiment.
put call parity
noun
defines the relationship between calls, puts and the underlying futures contrac

C + PV(x) = P + S
put option
noun
an option to sell assets at an agreed price on or before a particular date
put price
noun
he price at which an asset will be sold if a put option is exercised
puzzle
noun
a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge
pyramid
noun
polyhedron formed by connecting a polygonal base and a point, called the apex.
pythagorean theorem
noun
a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides

a2 + b2 = c2