ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ball (mathematics)

A ball in mathematics is like a round and bouncy toy that you play with. But instead of being made of rubber or plastic, it's an imaginary shape that is used in a lot of different math problems. Imagine a big, round bubble that you can touch and move around. That's what a ball is in math!

Now, when we talk about a ball in math, we usually mean a three-dimensional shape that is made up of all the points that are a certain distance from a certain point called the center. Think of it like this: if you drew a dot on a piece of paper and then drew a circle around it, the circle would be a 2D version of a ball. Now imagine that you could add a third dimension and extend that circle into a sphere, and that's what a ball in math looks like!

Balls can have different sizes, depending on how far away from the center you go. They can also be moved around and spun like a real ball, but we usually use them in math to help solve problems or describe things in space. For example, if you wanted to find all the points on a graph that are a certain distance from a certain point, you could use a ball to help you visualize it.

So, to sum it up, a ball in math is a round, three-dimensional shape that is made up of all the points that are a certain distance from a certain point called the center. It's like an imaginary toy that helps us solve problems and understand things in space.