Arithmetical Words, Part IV

The phrase "Mind your P's and Q's" comes to my mind today, as we get closer to the end of the alphabet and arithmetic words. Many different origins have been suggested for this slang phrase, but it seems to have always been used to encourage people to be careful.

Today we will look (carefully) at the arithmetic words beginning with P and Q

• Parallel Lines lines that never cross, no matter how far they extend; always the same distance apart from each other
• Parallelogram quadrilateral whose opposite sides are parallel and congruent
• Pattern regularly repeated arrangement of letters, numbers, shapes, etc.
• Pentagon polygon with exactly five sides
• Percent ratio that compares a number to 100 using the % symbol
• Percent Pie Graph a circle graph where the sum of the percentages in each section equals 100 percent
• Perimeter distance around a closed figure
• Permutation one of several possible orders for a series of events or items
• Perpendicular Lines intersecting lines that form “square corners” or right angles (90 degrees) where they cross
• Pi (π) the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter; approximately equal to 3.14, or 22/7
• Plane Figure has only length and width; Two-Dimensional or 2D Figure
• post meridiem label for time from noon up to, but not including, midnight
• Polygon plane figure made up of 3 or more straight lines
• Positive Number a number greater than zero
• Prime Factor a factor that is also a prime number
• Prime Number a number that has itself and one as its only factors
• Probability the likelihood that a future event will occur; expressed as a value between 0 and 1, with 0 being impossible and 1 being certain
• Product name of the result obtained by multiplying two or more numbers together
• Property of One any number multiplied by one has itself as the product
• Pythagorean Theorem For any right triangle, the area of a square constructed along the triangle’s longest side (the hypotenuse) is equal to the sum of the area of squares built along the other two sides

• Quadrilateral a polygon with 4 sides
• Quart standard unit of measure for volume; 32 ounces; slightly more than a liter
• Quotient number resulting from a dividend being divided by a divisor; solution to a division problem