Math Vocabulary

Mathematics ESO. IES Don Bosco (Albacete). European Section 1

MATH VOCABULARY FOR BASIC CALCULATIONS

+ plus Example:

2 + 2

Two plus two

add, addition to join two o more numbers (or

quantities) to get one number (called the

sum or total)

addend addend sum

3 + 7 = 10

- minus

Example:

6 - 4

Six minus four

Subtraction,

subtract

to take one quantity away from another

minuend subtrahend difference

10 - 3 = 7

There are several ways of expressing subtraction:

Ten deduct three = seven

Ten subtract three = seven

Ten take away three = seven

Ten minus three = seven

Ten less three = seven

or … the difference between ten and three.

They all mean the same thing: 10 – 3 = 7


x or * or · times Example:

5 x 3 or 5 * 3 or 5 · 3

Five times three

multiplication

(to multiply)

a mathematical operation where a

number is added to itself a number of

times

multiplicand multiplier product

7 · 3 = 21

seven times three is twenty-one (or seven multiplied by three is/makes twenty-one)

/ or ÷ or : divided by Example:

4 / 2 or 4 ÷ 2 or 4 : 2

four divided by two

division (to divide) sharing o grouping a number into

equal parts

dividend divisor quotient

20 : 2 = 10

remainder: amount left over after dividing a number.

9 4

1 2

⇓ r: remainder left over

divisible: can be divided without a remainder.

e.g. 20 is divisible by 2 and 10

factor (divisor): a number that divides exactly into another

number.

e.g. 2 and 10 are factors of 20


= equals (is equal to)

Example:

2 + 2 = 4

Two plus two equals four (or two plus two is equal to four)

≠ is not equal to Example:

12 ≠ 15

Twelve is not equal to fifteen

< is less than

Example:

7 < 10

Seven is less than ten

> is greater than

Example:

12 > 8

Twelve is greater than eight

≤ is less than or equal to

Example:

4 + 1 ≤ 6

Four plus one is less than or equal to six

≥ is greater than or equal to

Example:

5 + 7 ≥ 10

Five plus seven is greater than or equal to ten


set collection of items

symbol: { }

members of a set are called elements

{ }2, 4,6,8 There are 4 elements in this set

Venn diagram a diagram using circles or other shapes to

show the relationship between sets


Real numbers may be classified as:

natural numbers counting numbers from one to infinity

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...

whole numbers counting numbers from zero to infinity

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...

integers positive numbers and negative numbers and

zero, but not fractions or decimals

..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...

rationals integers, fractions, terminating and

repeating decimals

..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ... 1

4 , 0.5, = 0.142857142857...

1

7 , ...

irrationals non-terminating and non-repeating decimals

π = 3.14159295359... , =2 1.414213...,

2.010010001... , ...


fraction any part of a group, number or whole

Example: 3

4

numerator

denominator

1

2 one half

Example: 1 1

1 =1+2 2

One and one half

1

3 one third

Example:

1 13 =3+3 3

Three and one third

1

4 one quarter

Example: 1 1

2 =2+4 4

Two and one quarter

5

9, 2

3, 5

6

five ninths, two thirds,

five sixths

(Read the top number as a

cardinal number, followed by

the ordinal number + ‘s’ )

Example: 2 2

4 =4+3 3

Four and two thirds

5

30 five over thirty


proper fraction numerator is less than the denominator.

Example: 45

improper

fraction

numerator is greater than or equal to

denominator.

Example: 54

mixed number whole number and a fraction.

Example: 1 12 25 5

= +

equivalent

fractions

fractions that represent the same number.

Example: 1 4 5

2 8 10= =

reduce we reduce a fraction by finding an equivalent

fraction in which the numerator and

denominator are as small as possible.

Example: 1215

=4

5

power of (number) the number of times a base number is

multiplied by itself

104

Index

(exponent)

Base number Read as Expanded Value

32

three squared or

three to the power of two 3·3 9

53

five cubed or

five to the power of three 5·5·5 125

25 two to the power of five 2·2·2·2·2 32

104 ten to the power of four 10·10·10·10 10 000


factor • a whole number that divides exactly into

another number

• a whole number that multiplies with

another number to make a third number

proper factor all the factors of a number except 1 and the

number itself

composite a number with more than two factors

Example: 12 is a composite number

The factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12

prime number • number that has exactly two factors

• number that can only be divided by itself

and one

Example: 2 is a prime number

Note: 1 is not a prime number. It only has one

factor (1), not two.

prime factor a factor that is also a prime number

Example: 5 is a prime factor of 30


factorise to write a number as a product of its factors

12 4 3= ⋅

prime

factorisation

to write a number as a product of its prime

factors

212 2 2 3 2 3= ⋅ ⋅ = ⋅

greatest

common

factor or

divisor (GCF)

the biggest number that will divide two or

more other numbers exactly

Example: the greatest common factor of

30, 45 and 60 is 15

least common

multiple

(LCM)

the smallest number that is the multiple of two

or more other numbers

Example: the least common multiple of

3, 4 and 6 is 12


square number a number that results from multiplying

another number by itself

Example: 9 is a square number because 9 = 32

A square number can be represented in the

shape of a square.

cube number a number that results from multiplying

another number three times by itself

Example: 125 is a cube number because

125 = 53

A cubed number can be represented in the

shape of a cube.

53 = 125


square root of

a number

a number when multiplied by itself gives the

original number

Example: 29 3 3·3 3 9= ⇔ = =

cube root of a

number

one of three identical factors of a number

that is the product of those factors

Example: 3 3125 5 5·5·5 5 125= ⇔ = =


sequence A sequence is a set of numbers that follow a

pattern.

Examples:

5, 9, 13, 17, 21, … are the first five

terms of a sequence that goes up in 4s

3, 6, 12, 24, 48, … are the first five

terms of a sequence that doubles

1, 4, 9, 16, 25, … is the sequence of

square numbers

1, 8, 27, 64, 125, … is the sequence of

cube numbers

If you work out the pattern, you can work out the next numbers in

the sequence. Below are some examples:

a) The rule is to add 6 each time

So the next numbers would be 27 + 6 = 33

b) The rule is to multiply by 3 each time

So the next numbers would be 54 · 3 = 162


even number a number that is divisible by 2

Example: 3788

Even numbers end with 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0

The sequence of even numbers is:

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, … and so on

odd number a number that is not divisible by 2

Example: 4399

Odd numbers end with 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9

The sequence of odd numbers is:

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, … and so on

Documents

Math Vocabulary