- Aarau (noun)
City in northern Switzerland on the right bank of the Aare River, west of Zürich.
- Adjudicate (verb)
To hear and settle (a case) by judicial procedure; To study and settle (a dispute or controversy).
- Alexandria (noun)
City in Lower Egypt. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt from its founding by Alexander the Great in 332 BC to AD 642. (BC stands for "Before Christ" or "Before the Common Era" and AD stands for anno domini, Latin for “in the year of our Lord.”)
- Altdorf (noun)
Town in central Switzerland.
- Amateur (noun)
One who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession.
- Analogously (adv)
Showing a likeness that permits one to find similarities.
- Analyze (verb)
To examine in detail; the process of breaking up a whole into its parts to determine their nature.
- Aristotle (noun)
Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the two greatest intellectual figures produced by the Greeks (the other being Plato). He surveyed the whole of human knowledge as it was known in the Mediterranean world in his day.
- Assumption (noun)
Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof; a supposition.
- Astronomy (noun)
The study of objects and matter outside the earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties.
- Austria (noun)
Largely mountainous country of south-central Europe. It is bordered on the west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, on the northwest by Germany, on the north by the Czech Republic, on the northeast by Slovakia, on the east by Hungary, and on the south by Italy. Birthplace of Nico Lacchini.
- Average (noun)
Exactly or approximately the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures. (A quotient (noun) is the number obtained when one quantity is divided by another.)
- Axiom (noun)
An established rule or principle or a self-evident (obvious) truth.
- Babylonia (noun)
Ancient cultural region occupying southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf).
- Bar Graph (noun)
A graphical way of showing quantitative comparisons by using rectangular shapes with lengths proportional to the measure of what is being compared.
- Bell Curve (noun)
A normal curve; normal distribution, a theoretical distribution with finite mean end variants.
- Bern (noun)
City, capital of Switzerland, in the west-central part of the nation. It lies along a narrow loop of the Aare River.
- Calculus (noun)
A method of computation or calculation in a special notation (like logic or symbolic logic). (You'll see this at the end of high school or in college.)
- Centrifugal Force (noun)
The force that tends to impel (urge motion) a thing or parts of a thing outward from a center of rotation. (Think about how if you swing a bucket of water around really fast, it doesn't spill…)
- Chaos Theory (noun)
Describes the complex and unpredictable motion or dynamics of systems that are sensitive to their initial conditions. Chaotic systems are mathematically deterministic-that is, they follow precise laws, but their irregular behavior can appear to be random to the casual observer.
- Civil servant (noun)
A member of a civil service (one provided by a government).
- Collaborative (adj)
Working jointly with others.
- Collect (verb)
To gather or exact from a number of persons or sources.
- Communalism (noun)
Social organization on a communal basis. (This is similar to the word "community.")
- Compress (verb)
To press together; To make more compact by or as if by pressing.
- Computational (adj)
Relating to or involving the use of computers.
- Constituent (noun)
A voter in a district; a component.
- Conundrum (noun)
An intricate and difficult problem.
- Croton (noun)
The school apparently founded by Pythagoras at Croton in southern Italy seems to have been primarily a religious brotherhood centered around Pythagoras and the cults of Apollo and of the Muses, ancient patron goddesses of poetry and culture.
- Cubed (verb)
To raise to the third power. (5 cubed is 125.)
- Data (noun)
Factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.
- Differential Equations (noun)
Mathematical equation that relates functions and their derivatives.
- Differentiation (noun)
Method of obtaining the mathematical derivative of. (This is part of calculus, a high-level math.)
- Directly Proportional (adj)
Related by direct variation. (In other words, if piles of apples and pears are getting bigger and are directly proportional, then they are both increasing at the same rate.)
- Discrete Quantities (noun)
Mathematics defines these as packets or known amounts.
- Disseminate (verb)
To distribute, scatter about, disperse or circulate.
- Diversity (noun)
The condition of being different, unlikeness.
- Doctorate (noun)
The degree, title, or rank of a doctor. (This can be a medical Dr. or an academic Ph.D.)
- Dynamical Systems (noun)
Mathematical objects used to model physical phenomena whose state (or instantaneous description) changes over time. These models are used in financial and economic forecasting, environmental modeling, medical diagnosis, industrial equipment diagnosis, and a host of other applications.
- Dynasty (noun)
A succession of rulers from the same family or line. A family or group that maintains power for several generations: a political dynasty controlling the state.
- Efficacy (noun)
The power to produce desired effect.
- Electromagnetic (adj)
Describes magnetism developed by a current of electricity.
- Enroll (verb)
To insert, register, or enter in a list, catalog, or roll. (To record or be recorded in a roll or list; to enlist; to make or become a member.)
- Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry (noun)
The study of points, lines, angles, surfaces, and solids, on the basis of either the 10 axioms and postulates selected by the Greek mathematician Euclid (c. 325 BC) or a modification of Euclid's system.
- Expenditure (noun)
Something that has been paid out.
- Fractals (noun)
A fractal is a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar and independent of scale.
- Frequency (noun)
In physics, the number of waves that pass a fixed point in a specific unit time; also the number of cycles or vibrations undergone during one unit of time by a body in periodic motion. (As simple as it gets!)
- Genealogy (noun)
An account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms.
- Hanover (noun)
City in north central Germany.
- Homogeneous (adj)
Of the same or a similar kind or nature.
- Hypotenuse (noun)
The side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angle. (A right angle is a 90 degree angle.)
- Indemonstrable assumption (noun)
Something that cannot be demonstrated or proved.
- Indicator (noun)
Any of a group of statistical values that taken together give an insight into a particular topic.
- Infinity (noun)
Unlimited extent of time, space, or quantity.
- Integration (noun)
The operation of solving a differential equation. (This is calculus, a high-level math.)
- Intrigue (verb)
To arouse the interest or curiosity of.
- Inversely proportional (adj)
Related by inverse variation. (This simply means that, if one thing decreases, the other increases.)
- Irreducibility (noun)
The state or quality of being irreducible. (Something irreducible is impossible to reduce to a desired, simpler, or smaller form or amount").
- Jurisprudence (noun)
The science or philosophy of law. (We now call these people lawyers; the degree is a JD.)
- Leipzig (noun)
City in east-central Germany, southwest of Berlin.
- Lieutenant (noun)
Company grade officer, the lowest rank of commissioned officer in most armies of the world. The lieutenant normally commands a small tactical unit such as a platoon.
- Lincolnshire (noun)
County in east England.
- Line (noun)
A real or imaginary mark positioned in relation to fixed points of reference.
- Line graph (noun)
A line graph can be used to show how something changes over time. They have an x-axis (horizontal) and a y-axis (vertical). Usually, the x-axis has numbers for the time period, and the y-axis has numbers for what is being measured.
- Lutheran (adj)
Of or relating to the Protestant churches adhering to Lutheran doctrines. (Basically a branch of the Christian faith.)
- Mark I (noun)
The first digital computer.
- Mass (noun)
The property of a body that is a measure of its inertia (lacking the power to move) and that is commonly taken as a measure of the amount of material it contains and causes it to have weight within Earth's gravity. (Mass is different from "weight." What you weigh has to do with gravity; your mass is measured without gravity.)
- Maternal (adj)
Related through a mother.
- Max Planck (noun)
Theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, which won him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
- Mean (noun)
Halfway between extremes, average.
- Median (noun)
The value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below. (Middle, intermediate; designating the middle # in a series.)
- Meditations (noun)
A discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation.
- Milan (noun)
City, capital of Milan province, northern Italy. It is the leading financial center of Italy.
- Mischievous (adj)
Able or tending to cause annoyance, trouble, or minor injury; irresponsibly playful.
- Monastery (noun)
A house for persons under religious vows; especially: an establishment for monks.
- Monk (noun)
A man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery.
- Monte Carlo Methods (noun)
Numerical methods that are known as Monte Carlo methods can be loosely described as statistical simulation methods, where statistical simulation is defined in quite general terms to be any method that utilizes sequences of random numbers to perform the simulation.
- Mosaic (noun)
A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface. The process or art of making such pictures or designs.
- Myth (noun)
A popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone. (Can you think of an American one?)
- Nobel Prize (noun)
Any of the prizes (five in number until 1969, when a sixth was added) that are awarded annually by four institutions (three Swedish and one Norwegian) from a fund established under the will of Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Distribution was begun on Dec. 10, 1901, the fifth anniversary of the death of the founder.
- Nonlinear (adj)
Not lying on the same straight line.
- Normal distribution (noun)
A probability distribution forming a symmetrical bell-shaped curve.
- Number mysticism (noun)
Number speculation is the most characteristic feature of Pythagoreanism. Things "are" number, or "resemble" number. To many Pythagoreans this concept meant that things are measurable or proportional in terms of number. (This type of thinking isn't so popular anymore…)
- Number theory (noun)
The study of the properties of integers (any of the natural numbers, the negatives of these numbers, or zero).
- Numerology (noun)
The study of numbers, and the occult manner in which they reflect certain aptitudes and character tendencies, as an integral part of the cosmic plan.
- Oblong (adj)
Deviating from a square, circular, or spherical form by elongation in one dimension. (Basically, a stretched out circle.)
- Obsolete (noun)
No longer in use, or, no longer useful.
- Optics (noun)
Any of the elements (as lenses, mirrors, or light guides) of an optical instrument or system.
- Outwit (verb)
To get the better of by superior cleverness.
- Parallel (adj)
Extending in the same direction, everywhere equidistant (same distance apart), and not meeting. (You'll hear this one in math class.)
- Parameter (noun)
One of a set of measurable factors, such as temperature and pressure, that define a system and determine its behavior and are varied in an experiment.
- Parthenon (noun)
The chief temple of the goddess Athena built on the acropolis at Athens between 447 and 432 B.C. and considered a supreme example of Doric architecture.
- PDF (noun)
Stands for Portable Document Format. It is a flexible, cross-platform file format that accurately displays graphical elements that are in a publication. Many web documents are in a pdf format.
- Periodic (adj)
Occurring or recurring at regular intervals.
- Peter the Great (Peter I) (noun)
Tsar of Russia who reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V (1682-96) and alone thereafter (1696-1725) and who in 1721 was proclaimed emperor. He was one of his country's greatest statesmen, organizers, and reformers
- Phenomenon (noun)
A fact or event of scientific interest that could have a scientific description and explanation.
- Photoelectric effect (noun)
Event in which charge particles are released from a material when it absorbs radiant energy. (This happens with cameras and film…)
- Physics (noun)
A science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions.
- Pie chart (noun)
A circular chart cut into segments illustrating relative magnitudes or frequencies.
- Plague (noun)
Any epidemic (widespread) disease causing a high rate of mortality (death).
- Plane (noun)
Mathematics. A surface containing all the straight lines that connect any two points on it.
- Plane geometry (noun)
A branch of elementary geometry that deals with plane figures.
- Plato (noun)
Greek philosopher; disciple of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle , known for creating the philosophical foundations of Western culture. (Pretty impressive!)
- Policy (noun)
A principle, plan etc., as of a government.
- Poll (noun)
A canvassing of people's opinions on some question.
- Postulate (noun)
A hypothesis advanced as an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning.
- Precocious (adj)
Exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age. (Often said by adults.)
- Prediction (noun)
An indication in advance based on observation, experience, or scientific reason. (A state in advance as to what one believes will happen, a foretelling.)
- Probability (noun)
Something that is likely to happen or exist.
- Probability distribution (noun)
Also called a probability function, a function that describes all the values that the random variable can take and the probability associated with each.
- Probability theory (noun)
A branch of mathematics concerned with the analysis of random events. The outcome of a random event cannot be determined before it occurs, but it may be any one of several possible outcomes. The actual outcome is considered to be determined by chance. (See our Dice Game to learn more!)
- Prodigy (noun)
A highly talented child or youth.
- Product (noun)
The number or expression resulting from multiplying of two or more numbers or expressions. (The product of 7 x 2 x 3 = 42.)
- Proportional (adj)
Corresponding in size, degree, or intensity; having the same or a constant ratio. (If you have 4 plums and 7 pears in a bowl, and 8 plums and 14 pears in another bowl, the 2 are proportional.)
- Prototype (adj)
An original model on which something is patterned.
- Provocative (adj)
Serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate; exciting.
- Pythagoras' theorem (noun)
A geometric theorem which allows us to find the length of the third side on a right angle triangle if we know the other two lengths.
- Quanta (noun)
In physics, discrete natural unit, or packet, of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property.
- Quantum theory (noun)
Theory in physics based on the concept of dividing radiant energy into finite (known pieces of) quanta and applied to numerous processes involving shifting or altering energy on an atomic or molecular scale. (Totally difficult stuff!)
- Radiation (noun)
The flow of atomic and subatomic particles and of waves, such as those that characterize heat rays, light rays, and X rays.
- Ratio (noun)
A fixed relation in degree, number, etc. between two similar things; a proportion; a measured comparison. Also, the indicated quotient of two mathematical expressions; the relationship in quantity, amount, or size between two or more things. (If pears and apples are in a 5:2 ratio, then if there are 25 pears, there are 10 apples.)
- Rational (adj)
Having reason or understanding.
- Refracted (verb)
To subject (as a ray of light) to refraction (reflection from a straight path undergone by a light ray or energy wave in passing obliquely from one medium (as air) into another (as glass) in which its speed is different). (Another tough one, sorry!)
- Reinterpretation (noun)
The process of giving a new or different interpretation to.
- Relativity (noun)
In physics, the problem of how physical laws and measurements change when considered by observers in various states of motion. So you see, relativity is concerned with measurements made by different observers moving relative to one another. Also, simply the state of depending for existence on, or having nature, value, or quality in relation to something else. (For example, you are a child relative to your parents and a student relative to your teachers etc.)
- Reliability (noun)
The extent to which an experiment, test, or other measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials.
- Renovate (verb)
To make as good as new; restore to the original condition.
- Research (noun)
The collecting of information about a particular subject.
- Resumed (verb)
To assume or start again.
- Rural (adj)
Of, like, or living in the country; rustic.
- Saint Petersburg (noun)
City in extreme northwestern Russia. It lies about 400 miles northwest of Moscow and only about 7 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
- Sample (noun)
A representative part or a single item from a larger or whole group. A sample is a subset of a population. Since it is usually impractical to test every member of a population, a sample from the population is typically the best approach available.
- Scale (noun)
A relationship between things or parts of things with respect to comparative magnitude, quantity, or degree.
- Socrates (noun)
Greek philosopher; developer of philosophical thought concerned with the analysis of the character and conduct of human life. (Also made famous by Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure; the name is really pronounced: "Sa-cra-tees.")
- Space (noun)
Mathematics. A set of elements or points satisfying specified geometric postulates: non-Euclidean space. The infinite extension of the three-dimensional field in which all matter exists.
- Speed of Light (noun)
A fundamental physical constant that is the speed at which electromagnetic radiation propagates in a vacuum and that has a value fixed by international convention of 299,792,458 meters per second; the symbol used is "c." (Easy as it gets, sorry!)
- Square (noun)
The product of a number multiplied by itself. (The square of 5 = 25.)
- Standard (noun)
Something established for use as a rule or basis of comparison in measuring quantity, quality, value, etc.
- Statistician (noun)
A person who compiles and interprets statistics.
- Statistics (noun)
A branch of math dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data; A collection of quantitative data.
- Stochastic (adj)
Involving or showing random behavior.
- Supersede (verb)
To take the place, room, or position of something else.
- Survey (noun)
A detailed study, as by gathering information and analyzing it.
- Symbolic Logic (noun)
A science of developing and representing logical principles through a formal system made up of primitive symbols, axioms, and rules of inference.
- Symmetry (noun)
Exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center or an axis. Beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement.
- Syria (noun)
A country of southwest Asia on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Conquered by various powers in ancient times, it was a province of the Ottoman Empire (1516-1918) and became a French territory in 1920. Syria officially gained its independence in 1944. Damascus is the capital and the largest city.
- Theologian (noun)
A specialist in theology (the study of religious faith, practice, and experience).
- Theorem (noun)
A formula, proposition, or statement in mathematics or logic deduced or to be deduced from other formulas or propositions. (A theorem is the last step, after other statements have been proved.)
- Theoretical (adj)
Confined to theory (abstract thought) or speculation, often in contrast to practical applications.
- Trend (noun)
The general movement in the course of time of a statistically noticeable change.
- Trinity (noun)
Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland and endowed by the city of Dublin.
- Ubiquitous (adj)
Existing or being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time; omnipresent.
- Unconscious (adj)
Lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception; not conscious. Without conscious control; involuntary or unintended.
- Urban (adj)
Of, in, or constituting a city.
- Valid (adj)
Well grounded or justifiable. Being logically correct.
- Vatican (noun)
The papal (of or relating to a pope or to the Roman Catholic Church) headquarters in Rome.
- World War II (noun)
A conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939-45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers--Germany, Italy, and Japan--and the Allies--France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China.
- Yeoman (noun)
In English history, a class intermediate between the gentry and the laborers; a yeoman was usually a landholder but could also be a retainer, guard, attendant, or subordinate official.
- Zurich (noun)
Largest city of Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is a financial and industrial center located in an Alpine setting at the northwestern end of Lake Zürich.
—Definitions were adapted from various statistical references and online dictionaries.
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