Maths vocabulary

Numberscomposite

numberA whole number that has more than two factors 6 is a composite number because it has three factors: 1, 3, and 6

digit

even number

Any one of the ten numerals: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

A whole number that is divisible by 2; a number that has 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 in the ones place

odd number

A number that is not divisible by 2; a number that has 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 in the ones place

prime number A number greater than 1 that has exactly two different factors, 1 and itself 5 is a prime number, as its only factors are 1 and 5.

factor A number or expression that is multiplied by another to yield a productAll the factors of 6 are: 1, 2, 3, and 6

exponent

A number placed to the top right of another number (base) to indicate the number of times the base is multiplied by itself

34

square root

A number (factor) that, when multiplied by itself, produces the given square

2

scientific notation

standard form

A method of writing or displaying numbers in terms of a decimal number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10The scientific notation of the number 5,300,000 is 5.3 ∙ 106

3 2square root cube root

power

exponent/indexbase

integers

The set of numbers consisting of the whole numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, . . ., their opposites -1, -2, -3, - 4, . . ., and 0.

irrational number

A real number that cannot be represented as an exact ratio of two integers; the decimal form of the number never terminates and never repeats

natural numbers

The set of counting numbers. Natural numbers include 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . .

rational numbers

Any number that can be expressed as a fraction in the form a/b where a and b are integers and b ≠ 0. All rational numbers can be expressed as a terminating or repeating decimal.

real numbers The set of numbers that includes all rational and irrational numbers.

whole numbers The set of counting numbers plus 0 {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . }.

real numbers

irrational number

rational numbers

integers

whole numbers 2

75

...23456789.1

083 42

9

8

57.0

Maths operations Symbols

addition +subtraction –

multiplication

division equal =

addendAny of the numbers in a designated sum of two or more numbers

The result of adding two or more quantities

sum

55241318 addend sum

221335 minuend subtrahend difference

60415 factor produ

ctfactor

factor

Factors are numbers you can multiply together to get another number

dividendA number to be divided by another number (divisor)

The number by which the dividend is divideddivisor

69:54 dividend divisor quotient

rounding

remainder

Remainder is the amount left over after division when one divisor does not divide the dividend exactly

243:14 r remainder

A method of approximating a number to its nearest place value

FractionsNumeratorDenominator

proper fractionA proper fraction is a fraction where the

numerator (the top number) is less than the denominator (the bottom number)

smallerlarger

improper fractionAn improper fraction is a fraction where the numerator (the top number) is greater than or equal to the denominator (the bottom number).

larger (or equal)smaller (or equal)

8

5

8

5

5

8

mixed fraction

also called mixed numbers

A mixed fraction is a whole number and a proper fraction combined.

Fractions that represent the same amount.

equivalent fractions

common denominatorCommon denominators for ½ and 2/5 and are

10, 20, 30, . . .

4

32

6

3

4

2

2

1

wholenumber

numerator

denominator

When we multiply or divide both the top and bottom by the same number, the fraction keeps it's value

decimalA fractional number written in base ten form

0.56 is a decimal number 4.7 is a mixed decimal number

recurring decimal

A decimal in which one or more digits repeat infinitely e.g., 0.777777 . . . , or 0.7percen

tPercent means parts per 100. The symbol is %

decimal point

76.452

units

tens hundredths

tenthshundreds

.

algebraic term

AlgebraThe addends of an algebraic expression involving constant(s) and at least one variable.Examples

3xy contains one algebraic term: 3xy5x2 — 3y contains two algebraic terms: 5x2 and —3y

monomial

polynomial

A polynomial with just one term.Example: 5x2

term

In Algebra a term is either:* a single number, or* a variable, or * numbers and variables multiplied together.

754 x

terms

A polynomial is a monomial or a sum or difference of two or more monomials.Example: 3x + 8, 4a2 + 2a – 5, 3x2 – 12xy + 15y2

equationA mathematical sentence stating that two expressions are equal.

coefficientA constant that multiplies a variable In 3x + 4y = 14, 3 is the coefficient of x and 4 is the coefficient of y.

variable

A symbol used to represent a number in an expression In 2n + 3 the variable is n

543 xvariable constantcoefficient

operatorconstant

543 x 0652 xxlinear equation quadratic equation

1042 xinequality

Plane geometry base

A particular side or face of a geometric figure.

collinear

Lying on the same straight line.

In the illustration below, A, B, and C are collinear

A

C

B

base of a prismbase of a triangle

congruentTwo figures that have the same shape and size.

Two angles are congruent if they have the same measure

height

The perpendicular distance from a vertex to the line containing the opposite side of a plane figure; the length of a perpendicular from the vertex to the plane containing the base of a pyramid or cone

congruent trianglesTriangles are congruent when

they have exactly the same three sides and exactly the same three angles.

height

hypotenuse

leg of a right triangle

One of the two sides that form the right angle of a right triangle; the sides that are not the hypotenuse.

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle; the longest side of a right triangle.

line

(line) segment

A part of a line between two endpoints along the line. A line segment is named by the endpoints.A

B

hypotenuseleg of a

right triangle

line of symmetry

A line that divides a figure into two congruent parts so that they can be matched by folding the shape in half.

parallel

Line AB and line CD are parallel

perimeter The total distance around a closed figure.

A

D

C

B

perpendicular

Lines, faces, or edges that intersect at right angles (90°) to each other.

perpendicular bisector

A line, segment, or ray that meets a line segment at a right angle and divides the line segment into two equal pieces.

A

B

plane A set of points forming a flat surface that extends without end in all directions.

ray Part of a line that has one endpoint and extends infinitely in one direction.

side A line segment joining two adjacent vertices of a polygon.AB is a side of ΔABC

vertex

The common endpoint of two sides of a polygon.The common endpoint of two rays that form an angle.vertex

sidecircle All points on a flat surface that are the same

distance from a fixed point. The fixed point is called the centre of the circle.

circumference

The distance around (perimeter of) a circle, calculated by multiplying the length of the diameter (d) of the circle by pi (π)

diameter

A line segment of a circle passing through the centre of the circle.

radius A line segment that extends from the centre of a circle to any point on the circle; equal to half the diameter.chord A line segment joining two points on a cirlce.

radiuschord

diameter

tangent

A straight line that touches the cirlce at one point.

tangent

A

Angles

acute angleAn angle whose measure is greater than 0° and less than 90°.

A geometric figure formed by two rays or line segments (also called arms) with a common endpoint (called a vertex).

angle

obtuse angle An angle whose measure is greater than 90° and less than 180°.

right angle

reflex angle

An angle whose measure is greater than 180° and less than 360°.

A 90° angle; an angle formed by two perpendicular lines.

straight angle

An angle with a measure of 180°.

vertex arms

obtuse angle

reflex angle

straight angle

acute angle right angle

revolution

supplementary angles

Two angles are supplementary if they add up to 180 degrees.

complementary anglesTwo angles are complementary if they add up to 90 degrees (a right angle).

α1

α2

β1

β2

γ1

γ2

δ1

δ2

β1

alternate exterior angles

alternate interior angles

corresponding angles

andβ2

α1 andα2

γ1 andγ2

δ1 andδ2

γ1 andα2

β1 andδ2

δ1 andβ2

α1 andγ2

angle bisectorA line segment or ray that divides an angle into two congruent angles.

interior angle

An angle on the inside of a polygon formed by two adjacent sides of the polygon.

exterior angle

angle bisector

interior angle

exterior angle

exterior angle

An angle between any side of a shape, and a line extended from the next side.

An angle whose vertex is at the centre of a circle and whose sides contain radii of the circle.

central angle

An angle whose vertex is at the centre of a circle and whose sides contain radii of the circle.

inscribed angle

central angle

inscribedangle

Trianglesacute triangleA triangle in which all three angles are acute.

obtuse triangleA triangle containing one obtuse angle.

right triangleA triangle with one right angle.

acute triangle right triangle obtuse triangle

isosceles triangle

scalene triangleA triangle with no congruent sides and no congruent angles.

A triangle with at least two congruent sides and two congruent angles.

equilateral triangleA triangle with three congruent sides and three congruent angles.

equilateral triangle isosceles triangle scalene triangle

Quadrilaterals

parallelogramA quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides.

Polygons with four sides and four angles.

rectangle A quadrilateral with four right angles; a parallelogram with a right angle.

rhombus A parallelogram with all four sides congruent.

square A rectangle with all sides congruent (equal in measure); a rhombus with a right angle.

trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides.

kite

Polygonsdecago

n

heptagon

hexagon

A polygon with ten sides.

A polygon with seven sides and seven angles.

A polygon with six sides and six angles.

A closed plane figure formed by three or more line segments.

nonagon

pentagon

octagon

A polygon with nine sides and nine angles.

A polygon with five sides and five angles.

A polygon with eight sides and eight angles.

regular polygon

diagonal

A polygon in which all sides and all angles are congruent (equal).

A line segment connecting two non-adjacent vertices of a polygon

convex polygon concave polygon

Cartesian coordinate systemThe plane formed by a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, often labelled the x-axis and y-axis respectively; contains quadrants 1 to 4 (the quadrants are often labelled using Roman numerals I to IV).coordinat

esAn ordered pair of numbers that identifies, or is used to locate, a point on a coordinate plane, written as (x, y).

origin

The point on the coordinate plane where the x- and y-axes intersect; has coordinates (0, 0).quadrant

One of four sections of a coordinate grid separated by horizontal and vertical axes.

origin

Solid geometry

cone

cube A regular 3-D object with 6 congruent square faces, 12 congruent edges, and 8 vertices.

cylinder

sphere

polyhedron

pyramid

A 3-D figure that is bounded by four or more polygonal faces.

A polyhedron whose base is a polygon and whose lateral faces are triangles that share a common vertex.

prism A 3-D figure (solid) that has two congruent and parallel faces that are polygons (the bases); the remaining faces are parallelograms.

triangular prism

A prism with a triangular base.

rectangular prism

A prism whose six faces are rectangles; a prism with a rectangular base

square prismtriangular prism

rectangular prism

pentagonal prism

hexagonal prism

surface area

The sum of the areas of the faces or curved surface of a 3-D object.

volume The amount of 3-dimensional space an object occupies.

edge

face A flat surface of a solid

A line segment where two faces of a 3-D figure intersect.

faceedge

net The 2-D set of polygons of which a 3-D object is composed.

A graph that uses horizontal or vertical bars to display data.

Statistic bar graph

pie chartA graph in which the data is

represented by sectors (parts) of a circle (whole); the total of all the sectors should be 100% of the data.Each section of the circle represents a part or percentage of the whole.

A bar graph that displays the frequency of data that has been organized into equal intervals; the intervals cover all possible values of data; therefore, there are no spaces between the bars of the graph; the horizontal axis is divided into continuous equal intervals.

histogram

double-bar graphA graph that uses pairs of bars to

compare and show the relationship between data.

A measure of central tendency; the quotient obtained when the sum of the numbers in a set is divided by the number of addends; the arithmetic average.Example: Four tests results: 15, 18, 22, 20 The sum is: 75Divide 75 by 4: 18.75The mean (average) is 18.75

mean

median

The middle value in an ordered list. If there is no middle value, the median is the average of the two middle values.Example: Scores: 2, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 Median = 6

mode The number or members of a data set that occur(s) most frequently in the set of data.Example: In scores: 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 9, 10 Mode = 6

line graphA graph that uses line segments to

show changes in data; the data usually represents trends, relationships, or a quantity changing over time.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

range (of a data set)

The difference between the greatest and the least values in a set of numbers.

survey To ask either written or verbal questions for the purpose of acquiring information/data.

pole The results of a question or questions answered by a group of people.

An event that has a 100% chance of occurring

certain event

impossible event

An event that has a 0% chance of occurring

Example:Rolling the number 7 when tossing a six-sided number cube labelled 1 to 6

Example: Find the of the following data set: 9, 4, 17, 5, 7, 10, 13The lowest number is 4. The highest number is 17. Range = 17 - 4 = 13

Example:A die numbered 1-6 is rolled. It is certain that the die will land on a number 1 - 6.