NBT Math Notes — Explained From Scratch

1. EXPONENTS (Powers)
An exponent tells you how many times to multiply a number by itself. In 2³ , the 2 is the
base and the 3 is the exponent — it means 2 × 2 × 2 = 8.

The rules:

Multiplying same base: x^a × x^b = x^(a+b) — add the exponents. Example: x² ×
x³ = x⁵

Dividing same base: x^a ÷ x^b = x^(a−b) — subtract the exponents. Example: x⁵
÷ x² = x³

Power of a power: (x^a)^b = x^(a×b) — multiply the exponents. Example: (x²)³ =

x⁶

Anything to the power 0: x⁰ = 1 (this works for every number except 0 — 0⁰ has
no defined value)

Negative exponent: x^(−a) = 1/x^a — flip it into a fraction. Example: 2⁻² = 1/2² =
1/4

Same exponent, different base: a^n × b^n = (a×b)^n — you can multiply the
bases together first.

Why “remember trinomials”? Sometimes exponent expressions look like quadratics

in disguise (e.g., if you let y = x² , an equation might become y² + 5y + 6 = 0 ).
Recognizing this lets you factorize just like a normal trinomial.

2. ALGEBRAIC FRACTIONS
These are fractions that contain variables (like x/(x+2) ).

Adding/subtracting: You need a common denominator first (just like with normal
fractions), then combine into one fraction.

Multiplying: Multiply the tops together and the bottoms together.

 Dividing: Flip (invert) the second fraction, then multiply.

Important restriction: The denominator (bottom) can never equal 0 — that makes
the fraction undefined. If the numerator (top) equals 0, the whole fraction equals 0.

3. SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS
This means solving for two unknowns (x and y) using two equations at once. Three
methods:

Elimination — make the coefficients of one variable match, then subtract one equation
from the other so that variable cancels out. Example:

2x + 3y = 7
x − 2y = −3

Multiply the second equation by 2: 2x − 4y = −6 . Now subtract it from the first equation
— the x’s cancel, leaving you an equation in y only, which you solve.

Substitution — rearrange one equation to make x (or y) “the subject” (alone on one
side), then plug that expression into the other equation.

Graphing — plot both equations as lines on a graph. Wherever the lines cross is the
solution (that point’s x and y values).

4. FACTORIZATION
Factorizing means rewriting an expression as things multiplied together instead of
added.

Common factors: Pull out anything shared by every term, e.g. 2x + 4 = 2(x + 2)

Difference of two squares: a² − b² = (a+b)(a−b)

Trinomials: Expressions like x² + 5x + 6 factorize into two brackets, e.g. (x+2)

(x+3)

Grouping: Split a 4-term expression into two pairs, factor each pair, then factor
again

Quadratic formula (when factorizing doesn’t work nicely):

 x = [−b ± √(b² − 4ac)] / 2a

This solves any equation in the form ax² + bx + c = 0 .

5. COMPLETING THE SQUARE

This is another way to solve a quadratic equation, useful for finding the vertex (turning
point) of a parabola.

Example: x² + 6x + 8 = 0

1. Move the constant to the other side: x² + 6x = −8

2. Take half of the coefficient of x (which is 6), square it (3² = 9), and add it to both
sides: x² + 6x + 9 = −8 + 9

3. The left side is now a perfect square: (x+3)² = 1

4. Take the square root of both sides and solve for x.

6. FUNCTIONS
A function is a rule that turns an input (x) into an output (y).

Linear Functions — y = ax + q

This is a straight line.

a = the slope/gradient (how steep the line is)

Positive a → line goes up (from left to right)

Negative a → line goes down

a = 0 → flat, horizontal line

The bigger the absolute value of a, the steeper the line

To calculate a from two points: a = (y₁ − y₂)/(x₁ − x₂)

q = the y-intercept — where the line crosses the y-axis. Changing a doesn’t affect q.

Parallel lines have equal gradients (a-values).

 Perpendicular lines: the product of their gradients equals −1 (a₁ × a₂ = −1).

Quadratic Functions — y = ax² + bx + c (parabola/U-shape)

a positive → smile shape (opens upward, has a minimum point)

a negative → frown shape (opens downward, has a maximum point)

The bigger the absolute value of a, the narrower/skinnier the parabola. The smaller,
the wider.

b affects the “nature of roots” (see below) and the position of the turning point

c = the y-intercept (where the graph crosses the y-axis); it shifts the graph up/down
but doesn’t change its shape

Nature of roots — this tells you how many times (and how) the parabola crosses the x-
axis, using: b² − 4ac

If positive → two different real roots (crosses x-axis twice)

If zero → one root (touches the x-axis once, at the turning point)

If negative → no real roots (never touches the x-axis)

Vertex form — y = a(x − p)² + q — a different way to write the same parabola that
directly shows you the turning point.

p = the x-value of the turning point (axis of symmetry). Formula: p = −b/2a

q = the y-value of the turning point (the max or min value)

Finding distance: you can use the distance formula d = √[(x₂−x₁)² + (y₂−y₁)²] , or if
it’s along the x-axis, just find the x-intercepts and subtract them.

Hyperbola — y = a/(x+p) + q

A curve with two separate branches that never touch its asymptotes (invisible lines it
approaches but never crosses).

a = vertical stretch. If |a| is between 0 and 1, the graph is compressed; if |a| > 1, it’s
stretched. If a is negative, the graph is flipped/reflected.

p shifts the graph left/right. The vertical asymptote is at x = −p . Positive p shifts

left, negative p shifts right.

q shifts the graph up/down. The horizontal asymptote is at y = q . Positive q shifts

up, negative q shifts down.
Exponential Function — y = a·b^(x+p) + q

a = vertical stretch (bigger |a| = taller graph; smaller |a| = flatter). Positive a keeps
the graph above its horizontal asymptote.

b = growth/decay factor:

b > 1 → exponential growth (grows faster and faster, like compound interest)

0 < b < 1 → exponential decay (shrinks toward zero)

b = 1 → flat line (no change)

b can never be 0 or negative

p shifts left/right (positive p = left, negative p = right)

q shifts up/down (positive q = up, negative q = down)

7. ROOTS (Square Roots & Cube Roots)

A square root asks “what number times itself gives me this?” ( √9 = 3 because 3×3=9).

Simplifying: Break the number into factors, and pull out any perfect squares.
Example: √12 = √4 × √3 = 2√3

Multiplying same-type roots: Combine under one root. Example: ∛2 × ∛4 = ∛8 =

2

Dividing same-type roots: Combine into one fraction under the root, then simplify.

Adding/subtracting: You can only combine roots if the number under the root is
identical. Example: 2√3 + 4√3 = 6√3 (like combining “like terms”)

8. GEOMETRY

Triangles
All three interior angles add up to 180°

All three exterior angles add up to 360°

Pythagoras’ theorem: for right-angled triangles, a² + b² = c² (c is the longest

side, the hypotenuse)
 An exterior angle equals the sum of the two interior angles that aren’t next to it

Any two sides added together must be longer than the third side (otherwise the
triangle can’t exist)

Quadrilaterals (4-sided shapes)

Interior angles always add up to 360°

In a parallelogram: opposite angles are equal, and the diagonals cut each other
exactly in half (bisect)

Square:

Area = side²

Perimeter = 4 × side

Diagonal = side × √2

Rectangle:

Area = length × width

Perimeter = 2(length + width)

Diagonal = √(length² + width²)

3D Geometry
Cube: Volume = side³ | Surface area = 6 × side² | (6 faces, 12 edges, 8 vertices/corners)

Rectangular prism (box): Volume = length × width × height | Surface area = 2(lw + lh +
hw)

Sphere (ball): Volume = (4/3)πr³ | Surface area = 4πr² | (curved surface, no edges or
corners)

Cylinder: Volume = πr²h | Surface area = 2πr(h + r) | (2 flat circular ends + 1 curved
side)

Cone: Volume = (1/3)πr²h | Surface area = πr(l + r), where l is the slant height | (1
circular base, 1 pointy tip called the apex)

Pyramid: Volume = (1/3) × base area × height | Surface area = base area + (1/2 ×
perimeter × slant height)
9. PROBABILITY
Probability measures how likely something is to happen, as a number between 0
(impossible) and 1 (certain).

P(event) = (number of favorable outcomes) / (total possible outcomes)

Key terms:

Intersection (A and B / A∩B): both things happen

Union (A or B / A∪B): either thing happens (or both)

Complement (not A / A′): A does not happen

Main rules:

P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B) (subtract the overlap so you don’t count it
twice)

P(not A) = 1 − P(A)

Mutually exclusive events — can’t both happen at once (no overlap, e.g. rolling a 2 and
a 5 on one die roll). Here P(A and B) = 0 , so P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) .

Exhaustive events — together they cover every possibility, so P(A or B) = 1 .

Complementary events — mutually exclusive AND exhaustive at the same time (e.g.
“raining” and “not raining”). Here P(A) + P(B) = 1 .

Independent events — one doesn’t affect the other’s chances (e.g. two separate coin
flips): P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B)

10. STATISTICS

Measures of Dispersion (how spread out the data is)

Range = highest value − lowest value

Interquartile range (IQR) = Q3 − Q1 (the range of the “middle half” of the data)

Semi-interquartile range = ½(Q3 − Q1)

Box and Whisker Plot

This shows five key values: minimum, Q1 (lower quartile), median, Q3 (upper quartile),
maximum.

Half the data lies between the minimum and the median; half lies between the
median and maximum

Each “quarter” of the data sits between consecutive markers (min→Q1, Q1→median,
median→Q3, Q3→max)

Half the data lies between Q1 and Q3 (the “box” part)

Distribution Shapes

Negatively
Symmetrical Positively skewed
skewed

Mean vs
Equal Mean > Median Mean < Median
Median

Median line in
Centered Left side Right side
box

Even spread around the Tail stretches to the Tail stretches to

Shape
middle right the left

Which “average” should you trust?

Median is usually the most reliable — it isn’t thrown off by extreme values or
skewness

Mean is only reliable if the data is symmetrical (no skew, no big outliers)

Mode only matters if it occurs with clearly high frequency

Outliers
A value is considered an outlier if it falls outside this range:

[Q1 − 1.5×IQR ; Q3 + 1.5×IQR]

Standard Deviation
This measures how spread out the data is from the mean (average). Small standard
deviation = values are clustered close to the mean. Large standard deviation = values
are spread far apart.
If you double every value in a data set, the mean doubles too — but the standard
deviation stays proportionally the same relationship (scales with it).

The 68–95–99.7 rule (for roughly normal/symmetrical data):

~68% of values fall within 1 standard deviation of the mean: (mean − sd, mean + sd)

~95% of values fall within 2 standard deviations: (mean − 2sd, mean + 2sd)

~99.7% of values fall within 3 standard deviations: (mean − 3sd, mean + 3sd)