Definition
Minimum
The least value among all the values allowed in a stated situation.
Continue from this idea into connected AXIO math.
Boundary check: 2 is a minimum because it is both least and included; an open edge would not be.
What it means
First decide which values are allowed. Then look for the value that nothing else in that group goes below. A data list can have the same minimum more than once, but the minimum value itself does not change.
Remember it
Name the allowed values, then find their floor.
Example
For the data 7, 3, 9, 3, and 5, the minimum is 3. The value 3 appears twice, but it is still one minimum value.
Watch for
A lower edge is not a minimum unless it is included. The numbers greater than 0 have no minimum, because any positive number has a smaller positive number.
Common mix-up
“Min” can also shorten “minute,” so its meaning must come from the surrounding maths context.
Exact meaning
A minimum is an allowed value that is less than or equal to every other allowed value in the stated set, domain, or constrained situation.