Basic Math FAQ

• Coordinate Systems
  • What is a coordinate system?
  • What are Cartesian coordinates?
  • What are polar coordinates?
  • What is the origin?
  • What are the principle axes?
  • How do I convert between Cartesian and polar coordinates?
  • What is a quadrant?
  • What is an octant?
• Lines
  • What is the slope-intercept form of a line?
  • How can I find the slope of a line?
  • How can I find the y-intercept of a line?
  • What is the parametric form of a line?
  • What is the parametric form of a line in 3D?
  • What is the difference between a line and a line segment?
  • How do I find the distance between 2 points?
  • How do I find the distance between a point and a line?
  • How do I find the intersection of two lines?
  • How can I tell if a point on a line is in a particular line segment?
  • How do I find the midpoint of a line segment?
  • What is a polyline?
  • How can I tell if two lines are perpendicular?
  • How can I tell if two lines are parallel?
• Conic Sections
  • What are conic sections?
  • What is the Cartesian equation for a circle?
  • What is the parametric form of a circle?
  • What is the polar form for a circle?
  • What is a tangent to a circle?
• Polygons
  • What is a polygon?
  • What makes a polygon convex/concave?
  • What makes a polygon complex/simple?
  • What is the degree of a polygon?
  • What is a self-intersecting polygon?
  • What is a polyhedron?
• Planes
  • What is the definition of a plane?
  • What is the equation for a plane? The general equation for a plane is:
  • How can I find the normal vector to a plane?
  • How can I find the equation for a plane?
  • How can I find the intersection of two planes?
  • How can I find the intersection of a plane and a line?
  • How can I determine if a given point is in a particular plane?
  • How can I determine if a given line is in a particular plane?
  • What is a half-plane?
• Triangles and Trigonometry
  • What is the relationship between the angles of a triangle?
  • What is the relationship between the sides of a triangle (i.e. the Pythagorean Theorem)?
  • What is the relationship between the sides and angles of a triangle? (i.e. Law of Sines)
  • What is a right triangle?
  • What is the hypontenuse of a triangle?
  • What are the basic trig functions?
  • What are the trig identities?
  • What are similar triangles?
  • How can I find a particular angle in a triangle?
  • How can I find the length of a particular side in a triangle?
  • What is a graphical interpretation of sine and cosine?
• Equations
  • What is a linear equation?
  • What is a quadratic equation?
  • How can I solve a quadratic equation?
  • What is a system of equations?
  • What are simultaneous equations?
  • How can I solve simultaneous equations?
• Miscellaneous
  • What is an open/closed interval?
  • What is XOR?
  • What is the Round function?
  • What is the Floor function?