Graph Skills: Glossary

Glossary

constant the characteristics or elements that remain the same

coordinate one of a set of numbers used to identify the location of a point on a graph

dependent variable a variable in an equation with a value that is determined by mathematical operations on other variable and constant values in the same equation

graph a visual representation of a relationship between variables

independent variable a variable in an equation that is assigned a value rather than having a value that is determined by mathematical operations on other parts of the same equation

maximum point point on the curve with the highest y-coordinate and a slope of zero

minimum point point on the curve with the lowest y-coordinate and a slope of zero

negative slope the line is sloping down to the right, the slope is negative (-)

origin the point where the two axes intersect. The origin is also identified as the point (0, 0).

point of tangency the point where the curve and the tangent meet

point the basic relationship displayed on a graph. Each point is defined by a pair of numbers containing two coordinates. Each point is identified by both an x and a y coordinate.

positive slope the line is sloping up to the right, the slope is positive (+)

slope how much one variable (y) changes in relation to the change in another variable (x). The slope of a line is the ratio of the ratio of its vertical change (rise) over its horizontal change (run) as we move from left to right on the line. This can be written as follows:

tangent a straight line that touches a curve at a single point and does not cross through it

variable the generic term for any characteristic or element that changes

x-coordinate the value that tells you how far from the origin the point is on the horizontal, or x-axis

y-coordinate the value that tells you how far from the origin the point is on the vertical, or y-axis

y-intercept the point at which the line crosses the y-axis. The y-intercept is the value of y when x is equal to zero.

constant	the characteristics or elements that remain the same
coordinate	one of a set of numbers used to identify the location of a point on a graph
dependent variable	a variable in an equation with a value that is determined by mathematical operations on other variable and constant values in the same equation
graph	a visual representation of a relationship between variables
independent variable	a variable in an equation that is assigned a value rather than having a value that is determined by mathematical operations on other parts of the same equation
maximum point	point on the curve with the highest y-coordinate and a slope of zero
minimum point	point on the curve with the lowest y-coordinate and a slope of zero
negative slope	the line is sloping down to the right, the slope is negative (-)
origin	the point where the two axes intersect. The origin is also identified as the point (0, 0).
point of tangency	the point where the curve and the tangent meet
point	the basic relationship displayed on a graph. Each point is defined by a pair of numbers containing two coordinates. Each point is identified by both an x and a y coordinate.
positive slope	the line is sloping up to the right, the slope is positive (+)
slope	how much one variable (y) changes in relation to the change in another variable (x). The slope of a line is the ratio of the ratio of its vertical change (rise) over its horizontal change (run) as we move from left to right on the line. This can be written as follows:
tangent	a straight line that touches a curve at a single point and does not cross through it
variable	the generic term for any characteristic or element that changes
x-coordinate	the value that tells you how far from the origin the point is on the horizontal, or x-axis
y-coordinate	the value that tells you how far from the origin the point is on the vertical, or y-axis
y-intercept	the point at which the line crosses the y-axis. The y-intercept is the value of y when x is equal to zero.