1. G l o s s a r y 555
Adjacent — The side next to the angle used for ref-
erence in a right-angled triangle.
Allowable deduction — A deduction from taxable
income permitted by the Australian Taxation
Office. Allowable deductions include expenditure
incurred in earning income.
Allowance — An extra payment made to a worker
for working in unfavourable conditions.
Angle of depression — The angle through which
you must look down from the horizontal to sight
an object.
Angle of elevation — The angle through which you
must look up from the horizontal to sight an
object.
Annual leave — A period of time that each perma-
nent employee is allowed each year for holidays.
Annual leave loading — An extra payment of
17 % of the gross pay made to employees when
they take their annual leave.
Annulus — The area between two circles that have
the same centre (concentric).
Area — The amount of space within the boundary
of a closed figure.
Bar graph — A graph where categorical data are
displayed in horizontal bars, with the categories
on a vertical axis and quantity on the horizontal
axis.
Bimodal — A set of scores for which two scores
occur most often.
Bivariate data — Sets of data containing two vari-
ables.
Bottom plate — Timber or metal strip at the bottom
of a frame.
Box-and-whisker-plot — A method of graphically
displaying a five-number summary. The plot is
drawn to scale with the box representing the
interquartile range and the whiskers representing
the range. Within the box the median is also
shown.
Brace — Sheets of timber, or strips of timber or
metal used to provide strength to a frame and
help the frame to retain its shape.
Budget — A list of a person’s income and expenses.
A personal budget is made to try to avoid
spending more than is earned. A balanced budget
is where income equals expenditure.
Building square — A device used by builders to
check whether corners of buildings are square.
Capacity — The quantity of solid, liquid or gas that
a 3-D object could hold.
Casual rate — A higher rate of pay to compensate
casual workers for the lack of holiday and sick
pay.
Categorical data — Data which are not numerical
and are put into categories such as types of car.
Causality — When the occurrence of one variable
causes another. For example there is a strong
positive relationship between a person’s shirt size
and shoe size but one does not cause the other.
On the other hand, there is a strong positive
relationship between the amount of a Lottery
jackpot and the number of tickets sold. In this
case, it would seem that one does cause the other.
Census — Data gathered from the entire popu-
lation.
Central tendency — A method for describing a
typical score in a data set. There are three
measures of central tendency — mean, median
and mode.
Closed question — One that must be answered
within given categories.
Column graph — Similar to a bar graph, but the
data are displayed in vertical columns.
Commission — Payment made to a salesperson. A
commission is usually paid as a percentage of
sales.
Complementary events — Two events that cover
all possible outcomes to a probability experi-
ment. The sum of the probabilities to comple-
mentary events is 1.
Continuous data — Data which can take any value
within a given range.
Cosine ratio— The ratio of the adjacent side and
hypotenuse in a right-angled triangle.
Course — A ‘course of bricks’ is an alternative
expression for a ‘row of bricks’.
Cumulative frequency — A progressive total of
the frequencies.
Curing — Allowing concrete to dry slowly to
increase its strength.
Glossary
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2. 556 G l o s s a r y
Cyclic trends — Trends that fluctuate up and down
but not according to season.
Data — Information before it is organised.
Database — An organised set of data on a popu-
lation.
Deduction — A sum of money that is deducted
from an employee’s gross pay before receiving
net pay.
Dependent variable — A variable whose value
responds to changes in the independent variable.
Discrete data — Discrete data are where the data
can take only certain values, usually whole
numbers.
Double time — A penalty rate which pays the
employee twice the normal hourly rate.
Drop — A vertical length. The term is commonly
used in wallpapering and curtaining.
Effective width — The width of a sheet, taking into
account overlap between adjacent sheets.
Elevation — A scale drawing of what a building
will look like from one side.
Enlargement — A figure is drawn similar to, but
larger than the original. The corresponding sides
will be in equal ratio and all corresponding
angles will be equal.
Equally likely outcomes — These occur when each
element of the sample space for a probability
experiment is equally likely to occur.
Event — An occurrence that is being examined in a
probability experiment.
Exchange rate — The rate at which currencies can
be interchanged. Buying rate refers to the rate at
which banks will buy the currency from you.
Selling rate refers to the rate banks will sell you
a currency.
Extrapolate — To extend a graph so as to make
predictions about future trends.
Favourable outcomes — Elements from the
sample space that meet the requirement for an
event to occur.
Five-number summary — A summary of a data set
consisting of the lower extreme, lower quartile,
median, upper quartile and upper extreme.
Floor plan — A plan showing the floor dimensions
of a structure and detailed dimensions of features
duch as doors, windows, wall thicknesses and
stairs.
Footings — Trenches (in the shape of rectangular
prisms) dug around the perimeter of a slab, and
sometimes within the slab as a support for
internal walls.
Frequency — The number of times an event
occurs.
Frequency histogram — A graph suitable for stat-
istical (quantitative) data. It is a column graph
drawn with scores or class centres on the hori-
zontal axis and frequency on the vertical axis. A
unit (half column width) space is drawn before
the first column with no other gaps between
columns.
Frequency polygon — A line graph often drawn on
the same axes as a frequency histogram. The line
is drawn from the corner of the axes to the centre
of each column.
Frequency table — A table displaying statistical
data. For ungrouped data the table will have
columns for score, tally, frequency and possibly
cumulative frequency. For grouped data the score
column will be replaced with a class column and
a class centre column.
Fundamental counting principle — The number
of elements of the sample space for a multi-stage
probability experiment is found by multiplying
the number of ways each stage can occur. This is
the fundamental counting principle.
Gable roof — In the shape of an inverted ‘V’ with
two rectangular surfaces.
Goods and Services Tax — A tax that is levied on
the price of all items other than fresh food. The
GST is levied at a rate of 10%.
GPS (Global Positioning System) — A satellite
navigation system accessed by users on land, sea,
or in the air, operated by the US Department of
Defense.
Gradient — The rate of increase (or decrease) in
the dependent variable per one unit increase in
the independent variable.
Great circle — A circle of the greatest possible dia-
meter that can be drawn on the surface of a
sphere.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) — The standard
time in Greenwich which is used as the basis for
calculating the time in all other parts of the
world.
Greenwich Meridian — The meridian of longitude
from which angular distances in the east–west
direction are measured. Using the longitude cal-
culated from the Greenwich Meridian, time in
different places on the Earth’s surface is calcu-
lated.
Gross pay — A person’s earnings before any
deductions are taken out.
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3. G l o s s a r y 557
Group certificate — A statement of gross income
and the PAYG tax deducted from that income
throughout the financial year. It is given to the
employee by the employer at the end of each
financial year.
Grouped data — A data set tabulated in small
groups rather than as individual scores.
Grout — A mixture rubbed between tiles to provide
separation and to bind them together.
Hip roof — Generally consists of two trapezium-
shaped surfaces and two triangular surfaces.
Histogram — A column graph which displays the
frequency for a set of scores.
Horizontal — Level, flat and parallel to the horizon
or the ground.
Hypotenuse — The longest side of a right-angled
triangle. The hypotenuse is opposite the right
angle.
Income — Money received by a person that is tax-
able and is usually in exchange for labour or the
result of an investment.
Income tax — Tax that is paid on all income
received.
Independent variable — A variable whose value
does not depend on the value of another variable.
Indirect tax — Any tax that is not paid directly to
the government by the taxpayer. For example, the
GST is an indirect tax because it is paid to the
retailer who then passes it on to the government.
International Date Line — The meridian of longi-
tude opposite to the Greenwich Meridian. The
International Date Line is, however, bent for con-
venience. When crossing the International Date
Line, the date changes.
Interpolate — Drawing a graph using data found at
the end points.
Interquartile range — A number that represents
the spread of a data set. The interquartile range is
calculated by subtracting the lower quartile from
the upper quartile.
King post — Vertical post from the horizontal tie
beam of a truss to the apex of the truss.
Latitude — The angular distance of a point on the
Earth’s surface either north or south of the
equator.
Linear metre — Length expressed in metres.
Line of best fit — A line drawn on a scatterplot that
passes through or is close to as many points as
possible.
Lintel — A timber or metal strip above a door or
window.
Lower extreme — The lowest score in the data set.
Lower quartile — The lowest 25% of scores in a
data set.
Mean — The average of a data set, found by total-
ling all the scores then dividing by the number of
scores.
Median — The middle score or the average of the
two middle scores in a data set.
Medicare levy — A payment made as part of our
tax system that covers the cost of basic health
care services. The basic levy is 1.5% of gross
income; however, low income earners pay the
levy at a reduced rate.
Meridian of longitude — A line on the Earth’s sur-
face that runs from the North Pole to the South
Pole. Each meridian of longitude is measured by
the number of degrees east or west it is of the
Greenwich Meridian.
Mode — The score in a data set with the highest
frequency.
Mortar — A mixture of cement and sand used to
bind bricks together (and keep them a fixed dis-
tance apart).
Multi-stage event — This occurs when there is
more than one part to a probability experiment.
For example, tossing two coins can be con-
sidered as tossing one coin then tossing another,
therefore there are two parts to this experiment.
Net pay — The amount of money actually received
by the employee after all deductions have been
subtracted from the gross pay.
Nogging — Horizontal separators between studs in
a frame.
Nominal data — Categorical data which have no
order associated with them.
Non-compliant response — A response that does
not fit within the expected responses or categ-
ories provided in a questionnaire.
Numerical data — Data which involve numbers or
measurements.
Open question — One that has no guidelines
within which to answer.
Opposite — The side opposite to the angle used for
reference in a right-angled triangle.
Ordinal data — Categorical data that are associ-
ated with some qualitative scale.
Ordinary rate — The normal hourly rate for a
wage earner.
Outcome — A possible result to a probability
experiment.
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4. 558 G l o s s a r y
Overtime — This is when a person earns more than
the regular hours each week.
Parallel of latitude — A line on the Earth’s surface
parallel to the equator. Each parallel of latitude is
measured in terms of the angular distance either
north or south of the equator.
PAYG — Pay As You Go. The method usually
applied to the collection of tax.
Payment by piece (Piecework) — Payment for the
amount of work completed.
Penalty rate — A higher rate of pay made to a
person who is working overtime.
Per annum — per year.
Percentage chance — The probability of an event
expressed as a percentage.
Perimeter — The distance around the boundary of
a figure.
Piecework — see Payment by piece.
Pitch — The angle the roof makes with the hori-
zontal.
Pitch ratio — The pitch of a roof expressed as a
tangent ratio in the form 1 : x.
Plumb bob — A device consisting of a length of
string with a weight attached at one end. It is
used to test whether a surface is vertical.
Polygon — A line graph displaying the frequency
for a set of scores.
Population — An entire group of people or objects
to which a statistical inquiry is applied.
Prism — A solid shape with a constant cross-
section.
Probability — A number between 0 and 1 that
describes the chance of an event occurring.
Pyramid — A solid shape with a plane shape as its
base and triangular sides meeting at an apex.
Pythagoras’ theorem — In a right-angled triangle,
the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum
of the squares on the other two sides.
Pythagorean triad or Pythagorean triple — Sets
of three numbers which satisfy Pythagoras’
theorem.
Qualitative data — Data which do not involve
numbers or measurement.
Quantitative data — Data which can be measured.
A numerical value can be assigned to them.
Quartile — 25% of the data set. The upper quartile
is the top 25% of the data set and the lower quar-
tile is the bottom 25% of the data set.
Questionnaire — A set of questions completed for
a statistical investigation.
Rafter — Beam at the top of a truss to which the
roof cladding is attached.
Random trends — Those trends which occur ran-
domly, caused by external events such as wars,
floods.
Range — A number which represents the spread of
a data set. The range is calculated by subtracting
the smallest score from the largest score.
Recording error — Where data have been incor-
rectly recorded.
Reduction — A similar figure, drawn smaller in
size than the original.
Regression line — A line of best fit that is extrapo-
lated to make predictions about data.
Reinforcing mesh — Steel mesh laid in the con-
crete in the footings and slab to provide struc-
tural strength.
Relative frequency — A number between 0 and 1,
usually a decimal, which describes how often an
event has occurred. The relative frequency is
found by dividing the number of times an event
has occurred by the total number of trials.
Retainer — A fixed payment usually paid to
someone receiving commission. They receive the
retainer regardless of the number of sales made.
Roof truss — Frame providing shape and strength
for a roof.
Royalty — A royalty is a payment made to the
owner of a copyright such as a musician or
author. The royalty is usually a percentage of
sales.
Salary — A form of payment where a person is
paid a fixed amount to do their job. A salary is
usually based on an annual amount divided into
weekly or fortnightly instalments.
Sample — When data are gathered from a portion
of the population, that is taken to be represen-
tative of the whole population.
Sample space — A list of all possible outcomes to
a probability experiment.
Scale factor — A number by which the side lengths
on the first of two similar figures is multiplied by
to obtain the measurements on the second of the
figures.
Scatterplot — A graph that shows two variables,
one on each axis, and their relationship by plot-
ting the points generated by each data pair.
Score — Each piece of quantitative data is a score.
Seasonal trend — A trend that fluctuates with the
changing seasons.
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5. G l o s s a r y 559
Sector — The area between any two radii of a
circle.
Sector graph — A graph where a circle is cut into
sectors. Each sector then represents a section of
the data set. Each sector is the same proportion
of the circle as the part of the data set it rep-
resents.
Secular trend — A trend that appears to either
increase or decrease steadily over time, with no
major changes of direction.
Sill — Timber of metal strip below a window.
Similar (figures) — Two or more figures with cor-
responding angles equal and corresponding sides
in the same ratio.
Sine ratio — The ratio of the opposite side and the
hypotenuse in a right-angled triangle.
Site plan — A plan showing the boundaries of a
block of land and the position of the structure on
the lot.
Slab — Foundations for a structure.
Small circle — A circle that is drawn on the surface
of a sphere that is of a smaller diameter than a
great circle.
Sphere — A closed surface consisting of points in
space that are a fixed distance, the radius, from a
given point, the centre.
Spirit level — A device, usually constructed of alu-
minium, containing a vial of liquid with an air
bubble. It can be used to determine whether a
surface is horizontal and whether a surface is
vertical.
Standard deviation — A measure of the spread of
a data set. The standard deviation is found on a
calculator using either the population standard
deviation or the sample standard deviation.
Statistics — Numerical facts compiled to describe a
data set.
Stem-and-leaf-plot — A method of displaying a
data set where the first part of a number is
written in the stem and the second part of the
number is written in the leaves.
Studs — Vertical strips of timber or metal in a
frame.
Summary statistic — A number such as the mean,
median or mode which describes a data set.
Survey plan — A plan showing all boundaries of
blocks of land and the position of roadways.
Tangent ratio — The ratio of the opposite side and
the adjacent side in a right-angled triangle.
Taxable income — The amount of income upon
which the amount of tax due is calculated. Tax-
able income is calculated by subtracting any
allowable tax deductions from the total gross
income.
Three-dimensional — Can be described using
three measurements (for example a length, a
width and a height).
Tie beam — Beam at the base of a truss.
Time and a half — A penalty rate where the
employee is paid 1 times the normal hourly
rate.
Time series — Bivariate data where one of the vari-
ables is time.
Top plate — Timber or metal strip at the top of a
frame.
Tree diagram — A method of listing the sample
space to a multi-stage probability experiment.
The diagram branches once for each stage of the
experiment at each level showing all possible
outcomes to each stage.
Trend line — A straight line used to represent a
time series.
Trial — The number of times a probability experi-
ment has been conducted.
Trigonometry — A branch of mathematics in which
sides and angles of triangles are calculated.
Two-dimensional — Can be described using two
measurements (for example a length and a
width).
Upper extreme — The highest score in a data set.
Upper quartile — The highest 25% of scores in a
data set.
Value Added Tax — Similar to the GST, a VAT is
levied in many countries on the cost of goods
and services. The rate of VAT varies from
country to country.
Volume — The amount of space contained in, or
occupied by, a 3-D object.
Wage — A form of payment that is based on an
hourly rate.
Water level — A device consisting of a length of
clear hose filled with water. It can be used to
establish levels between two poins which are
separated by some distance.
y-intercept — The value of y when a function
crosses the vertical axis.
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