What does principal mean in math?

Answer 1

There are two meanings:

You come across the first in the context of percent changes. It is the amount that you borrow or save initially.

The second meaning is the more common one: it means "main". The principal square root of a number is the positive square root. The principal measure of an angle, obtained by using the arc functions in trigonometry, is the one between -90 and +90 degrees (for sine) or 0 and 180 degrees (for cosine and tangent). The principal diagonal of a matrix is the one from top left to bottom right, and so on.

There are two meanings:

You come across the first in the context of percent changes. It is the amount that you borrow or save initially.

The second meaning is the more common one: it means "main". The principal square root of a number is the positive square root. The principal measure of an angle, obtained by using the arc functions in trigonometry, is the one between -90 and +90 degrees (for sine) or 0 and 180 degrees (for cosine and tangent). The principal diagonal of a matrix is the one from top left to bottom right, and so on.

There are two meanings:

You come across the first in the context of percent changes. It is the amount that you borrow or save initially.

The second meaning is the more common one: it means "main". The principal square root of a number is the positive square root. The principal measure of an angle, obtained by using the arc functions in trigonometry, is the one between -90 and +90 degrees (for sine) or 0 and 180 degrees (for cosine and tangent). The principal diagonal of a matrix is the one from top left to bottom right, and so on.

There are two meanings:

You come across the first in the context of percent changes. It is the amount that you borrow or save initially.

The second meaning is the more common one: it means "main". The principal square root of a number is the positive square root. The principal measure of an angle, obtained by using the arc functions in trigonometry, is the one between -90 and +90 degrees (for sine) or 0 and 180 degrees (for cosine and tangent). The principal diagonal of a matrix is the one from top left to bottom right, and so on.

Answer 2

There are two meanings:

You come across the first in the context of percent changes. It is the amount that you borrow or save initially.

The second meaning is the more common one: it means "main". The principal square root of a number is the positive square root. The principal measure of an angle, obtained by using the arc functions in trigonometry, is the one between -90 and +90 degrees (for sine) or 0 and 180 degrees (for cosine and tangent). The principal diagonal of a matrix is the one from top left to bottom right, and so on.