ASVAB math vocabulary with verified definitions.

Integer An integer is any positive or negative whole number or zero. The ASVAB often requires you to work with integers, such as -6, 0, or 27. Factor Factors are integers (whole numbers) that can be divided evenly into another integer. To factor a number, you simply determine the numbers that you can divide into it. For example, 8 can be divided by the numbers 2 and 4 (in addition to 1 and 8), so 2 and 4 are factors of 8. Composite number is a whole number that can be divided evenly by itself and by 1, as well as by one or more other whole numbers; in other words, it has more than two factors. Examples of composite numbers are 6 (whose factors are 1, 2, 3, and 6), 9 (whose factors are 1, 3, and 9), and 12 (whose factors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12). Prime A prime number is a whole number that can be divided evenly by itself and by 1 but not by any other number, which means that it has exactly two factors. Examples of prime numbers are 2 (whose factors are 1 and 2), 5 (whose factors are 1 and 5), and 11 (whose factors are 1 and 11). Exponent An exponent is a shorthand method of indicating repeated multiplication. Base A base is a number that's used as a factor at least two times it's a number raised to an exponent. Factorial A factorial is represented by an exclamation point (!). You calculate a factorial by finding the product of (multiplying) a whole number and all the whole numbers less than it down to 1. So 6 factorial (6!) is 6x5x4x3x2x1=720A factorial helps you determine permutations all the different possible ways an event may turn out. For example, if you want to know how many different ways six runners could finish a race (permutation), you would solve for 6! Reciprocal A reciprocal is the number by which another number can be multiplied to produce 1; if you have a fraction, its reciprocal is that fraction turned upside down. Divisor Decimal going into the other number Dividend Number being divided Ratio Relationship between two things 2:1 or 2 to 1 Rate Word problems often ask you to solve problems that involve speed or simple interest rates. Here are two rate formulas you should commit to memory: Simple interest: , where I represents the amount of interest, P is the principal (the initial amount invested), r is the interest rate, and t is the length of time the money is invested. Distance: , where d represents the distance traveled, r is the rate (speed) of travel, and t is the amount of time traveled. Perfect squares Only a few whole numbers, called perfect squares, have exact square roots. For example, the square root of 25 is 5. Irrational number Other whole numbers have square roots that are decimals that go on forever and have no pattern that repeats (nonrepeating, nonterminating decimals), so they're called irrational numbers. The square root of 30 is 5.4772255 with no end to the decimal places, so the square root of 30 is an irrational number.