Math Review

Objectives: Review basic concepts in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and statistics

Negative Numbers
Indicate positions and directions opposite to the defined positive direction
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

change of +3 from 1:
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

change of 3 from 1:
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Operations with Negative Numbers

Addition:
Adding a negative number Subtracting a positive number

Subtraction:
Subtracting a negative number Adding a positive number

Multiplication & Division:

Numbers have same sign Numbers have opposite signs Result is positive Result is negative

Exponents & Square Roots

Exponent: indicates repeated self-multiplication 52 = 5 5 = 25 53 = 5 5 5 = 125 Square Root ( ): inverse of squaring a number x2 = x 52 = 25 Alternate notation: 25 = 52 = 5

x = x 1/2

Order of Operations
When computing the value of an expression, operations are performed in the following order (or precedence): 1. Expressions in parentheses 2. Exponents (N or ^) and square roots ( ) 3. Multiplication ( or *) and division (/) 4. Addition (+) and subtraction () Multiple operations with the same precedence are performed from left to right.

Simple Algebra
If:
(expression1) = (expression2)

Then:
(expression1) + N = (expression2) + N (expression1) N = (expression2) N (expression1) * N = (expression2) * N (expression1) / N = (expression2) / N (expression1)N = (expression2)N

where N is any number, variable, or expression. Use these operations to isolate the unknown variable on one side of the equals sign.

Coordinate Systems
A coordinate system can be used to quantify position and/or direction y (m) 2 1 origin (0,0) 1 2 units of measure (x,y) = (1 m, 2 m) coordinate axes
(oriented at 90 to each other)

x (m)

Lines
Equation of a line: y=mx+b b : y-intercept m : slope m= y x (0,0) b x y x y

Quadratic Equations
Quadratic equation: ax2 + bx + c = 0 A quadratic equation has two solutions: x= b + b 2 4ac 2a

b b2 4ac x= 2a

Measuring Angles
Degrees: 90 Radians:

/2
0, 2

180

0, 360

3/2

270 (degrees) = (180/) (radians) (radians) = (/180) (degrees)

= 3.14159

Note: Excel uses radians!

Geometric Relationships
For any triangle:

+ + = 180

For parallel & intersecting lines:

parallel

parallel

180

Pythagorean Theorem
For a right triangle: c b 90 a c2 = a 2 + b 2 c = a 2 + b2 a = c 2 b2 b = c 2 a2

Trigonometric Functions
sine: h o a o : side opposite to a : side adjacent to h : hypotenuse 90 cosine: cos = tangent: tan = o a a h sin = o h

Inverse Trigonometric Functions

sine: o sin = h h cosine: o cos = tangent: o tan = a a h arcsine:

= asin (
arccosine:

o h a h o a

) ) )

= acos (
arctangent:

90

= atan (

Law of Sines

a c

sin sin sin = = a b c

Law of Cosines

a c

a2 = b 2 + c 2 2bc cos b2 = a 2 + c 2 2ac cos c2 = a 2 + b 2 2ab cos

Percentages
1% = 1 = 0.01 100
45% 5 = 45 5 = 2.25 100

What is 45% of 5? 2 is what % of 5?

2 100% = 0.4 100% = 40% 5

% change =

(new value) (old value) 100% (old value)

Subscripts & Summations

Variables with similar meaning are often given the same name, but with a different subscript: e.g. v1 , v 2 , vx , vy , vknee , vhip Summation symbol indicates addition of a sequence of subscripted variables:

j x i i= 3 x i i=
5

= x j + x j+1 + x j+2 + + x k

= x3 + x4 + x 5

Average (or Mean)

The expected value of a group of numbers

x =

1x i i=
N

add values together, then divide by the number of values

average

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

Standard Deviation
Measure of the scatter about the average value

x x
-5

1(x i x )2 i=
N1

= 3.7
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 average 2 3 4 5

x
-5

= 1.8
-4 -3 -2 -1

10