θ^2 represents theta squared, which means multiplying theta by itself. In other words, it's raising theta to the power of 2.
Imagine you have a square-shaped pizza and you want to know its area. Each side length of the square represents θ, so when you multiply those sides together (θ * θ), you get the area (θ^2).
Exponentiation: Exponentiation refers to raising a base number or variable to an exponent. In this case, we're raising theta (the base) to the power of 2 (the exponent).
Variable: A variable is an unknown value that can change or vary in different situations. In our case, theta (θ) is our variable.
Coefficient: A coefficient is a number that multiplies a variable. In θ^2, there is an implicit coefficient of 1 since we don't explicitly see it written.
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.