Download Maths vocabulary booklet

Mathematical
Vocabulary
Booklet
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Mathematical Vocabulary
By the age of eleven, your child is expected to be familiar with, and
use, several hundred words or expressions associated with maths. This
list has been complied to support you, but is in no way a fully
comprehensive list of all the terminology your child will come across in
their four years at Lindley Junior School. We have tried to use
‘everyday’ explanations rather than too much technical jargon where
possible!
Word
Acute
Array
Axis
Axis of
symmetry
Everyday Expression
An angle less than 90
degrees.
Numbers, letter or shapes
arranged in a rectangular
shape.
Labelled horizontal/
vertical line that marks the
edge of a graph or
co-ordinate grid
Example
Same as a line of symmetry.
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Bar Chart
A way of displaying data
where bars of columns
display amounts.
Bus-stop
method
Alternative name for
traditional short division,
where the ‘dividend’ is
written in what looks like a
bus-stop.
Carroll Diagram Table in which items are
sorted according to the
different headings. In most
examples given to children
at primary school there are
two columns and two rows.
Chunking
Method for dividing where
you subtract ‘chunks’ of the
divisor from the dividend.
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Circumference
The distance around the
circle (perimeter).
Compensation
A method for adding and
subtracting that involves
doing a simpler calculation
and making a small
adjustment at the end to
‘compensate’. Useful in
mental maths.
Concave and
Convex
Concave =curving inwards
(think of going into a cave).
Convex =curving outwards.
643 – 498
Calculate 643 – 500 =
143. But that is taking
away 2 more than was
needed so we
‘compensate’ by
adding 2 onto the
answer e.g. 145.
Convex
Concave
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Concentric
Shapes or objects that
have the same centre – so
will be inside each other.
Congruent
If two things are
congruent, they are the
same size and shape (but
may be flipped over in a
different position
(orientation).
Decimal
Fraction
Any fraction in which the
bottom number
(denominator) is
10/100/1000 or a higher
power of 10.
Diameter
A straight line joining the
edges of a circle that
passes through its centre.
The same as the width of
the circle.
Digit
Dividend
Any if the numbers 0-9
13 or 0.13
100
The second digit of
1367 is 3
In a calculation the number In 345 ÷ 5, 345 is the
to be divided is the
dividend.
dividend.
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Divisible
Means that a number can
be divided exactly with no
remainders.
Divisibility Test A test to check if a number
divides exactly without
having to do the entire
calculation.
44 is divisible by 11,
but not by 3
171 divides exactly by
3 because the digits
171 add up to 9 (a
multiple of 3)
Divisor
In the calculation the
number you are dividing by
is the divisor.
Factor
A whole number that
3 is a factor of 15.
divides exactly into another The full set of
number.
factors of 15 is 1, 3,
5, 15
Formula
A way of showing how two
things are connected, using
mathematical symbols.
Formulae are nearly always
equations (something equals
something else).
Fraction
improper/
vulgar/ proper
A vulgar, or common,
fraction is any number
represented as one whole
number divided by another
whole number.
In 345 ÷ 5, 5 is the
divisor.
Formula for working
out degrees
Fahrenheit from
Centigrade is:
F = 1.8 x C + 32
7 = proper fraction
8
13 = Improper fractions
9
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Frequency
Chart
(Tally Chart)
Greater than
and Less than
Grid Method
Integer
Intersecting
Inverse
The fraction is called
‘improper’ if the top
number (numerator) is
larger than its bottom
number (denominator),
otherwise it is called
proper.
A table recording data and
how frequently things
occur. Tallies are often
used.
Symbols used to indicate
when one value is greater
or less than another.
> greater than
< less than
23 > 12
12 < 23
Method of teaching
multiplication as a
precursor to traditional
long multiplication.
A whole number (negative
whole numbers are also
integers).
Crossing over or
overlapping
Doing the opposite or
reversing something. If
there is more than one
34, 16, -12, 2005 are
all integers
12.4, 17.9 are not
The inverse of + 2 x 5
is ÷ 5 - 2
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Inverse
operations
Line of
symmetry
Mean
Median
Mixed number
Mode
step, start at the final step
and work backwards.
Addition and subtraction
are inverse. Multiplication
and division are inverse
operations.
Any line (real or imaginary)
that divides a shape in two
parts, where one part is the
mirror image of the other
part.
Most common form of
average, calculated by
finding the total of a group
of numbers and then
dividing by the number of
groups.
Another way to express the
average – the median is the
middle value if all the items
are listed in order from
smallest to largest.
A number expressed as a
whole number and a
fraction.
Another way of expressing
the average. Comes from
the French ‘a la mode’
meaning most popular or
most fashionable. It is the
2 x 5 = 10
10 ÷ 5 = 2
For the numbers:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1
1+2+3+4+5+6+
1 = 21
21 ÷ 7 = 3
For the numbers:
1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
3 is the median value.
1½
(one and a half)
For the numbers:
1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
1 is the mode
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Number bonds
Obtuse
Parallel
Partitioning
Perimeter
measurement that occurs
most frequently.
All pairs of numbers that
add to a particular number
e.g. 10 or 100
Number bonds to 10:
0-10
1-9
2-8
3-7
4-6
5-5
A angle that is more than
90 degrees, but less than
180.
Two lines equidistant apart
that will never meet.
Splitting a number up into
its component parts e.g.
hundreds, tens and units.
Rectangles have two
pairs of parallel lines.
146 partitioned =
100
40
6
The distance around the
edge of a shape, or the line 3m
that marks that edge.
4m
The perimeter is
indicted by the thick
black line.
The perimeter is 12m
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Perpendicular
Two lines that are at right
angles to each other.
Place Value
The value of a digit
determined by its place in
the number.
Polygon
Prime number
Product
Quadrilateral
Quotient
The place value of 2
in 2890 = 2000
The place value of 2
in 34.2 = 0.2
A two-dimensional shape
which has three or more
straight sides and no gaps.
Regular polygons have the
same size angles and length
of sides e.g. square
Irregular polygons can have
different lengths of sides
and angles e.g. scalene
triangle/ rectangle.
The whole numbers that
e.g. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13....
are not divisible by any
other number other than
themselves and 1.
The result of multiplying
e.g. the product of 4
two numbers together.
and 5 is 20
A shape with four straight
edges.
The answer in a division
sum.
e.g. 39 ÷ 3 = 13
13 is the quotient.
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg
Radius
The distance from the
centre of a circle to its
edge.
Ratio
The relative amount of one When diluting cordial
thing compared to another, the ratio of water to
usually written with a colon. cordial is 5:1
A diagram that allows you
to group items into two or
more categories, some of
which might belong to more
than one category.
Venn Diagram
Vertex
Volume
Mathematical name for a
corner (vertices is the
plural of vertex).
How much space there is
inside an object, measured
in litres of cubic metres.
A square has 4
vertices, a cube has
8.
This cube is 2cm x
2cm x 2cm so its
volume is 8cm3
Taken and adapted from ‘Maths for Mums and Dads’ by Rob Eastaway & Mike Askew (2010) published by Square Peg