MATH VOCABULARY FOR BASIC CALCULATIONS

x or * or times

Example: 5 x 3 or

5 * 3

or 5 3

plus

Example: 2 + 2

Five times three

multiplication (to multiply) a mathematical operation where a number is added to itself a number of times

Two plus two

add, addition
to join two o more numbers (or quantities) to get one number (called the sum or total)

multiplicand multiplier 7 3 =

product 21

addend addend 3 + 7 =

sum 10

seven times three is twenty-one (or seven multiplied by three is/makes twenty-one)
Example: 4 / 2 or 4 2 or 4 : 2

minus

Example: 6 - 4

or

or :

divided by

Six minus four

Subtraction, subtract to take one quantity away from another division (to divide)

four divided by two

sharing o grouping a number into equal parts

minuend subtrahend 10 3 =
There are several ways of expressing subtraction:

difference 7

dividend divisor quotient 20 : 2 = 10

remainder: amount left over after dividing a number.
9 4 1 2

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

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
1

equals (is equal to)

Example: 2 + 2 = 4

set

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

collection of items symbol: { } members of a set are called elements { 2, 4, 6, 8 } There are 4 elements in this set a diagram using circles or other shapes to show the relationship between sets

is not equal to

Example: 12 15

Venn diagram

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

Real numbers may be classified as:

fraction

any part of a group, number or whole

natural numbers

counting numbers from one to infinity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... counting numbers from zero to infinity 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... positive numbers and negative numbers and zero, but not fractions or decimals ..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ... integers, fractions, terminating and repeating decimals ..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...
1 1 , 0.5, = 0.142857142857... , ... 4 7

Example:

3 4

numerator denominator

whole numbers

1 2

one half

Example:

integers

1 1 1 =1+ 2 2
One and one half
Example:

rationals

1 3

one third

1 1 3 = 3+ 3 3
Three and one third
Example:

1 4

one quarter

irrationals

non-terminating and non-repeating decimals = 3.14159295359... , 2 = 1.414213... , 2.010010001... , ...

1 1 =2+ 4 4 Two and one quarter 2

Example:

5 2 5 , , 9 3 6
five ninths, two thirds, five sixths (Read the top number as a cardinal number, followed by the ordinal number + s )

2 2 =4+ 3 3 Four and two thirds 4

5 30

five over thirty

proper fraction

numerator is less than the denominator.

4 Example: 5

factor

improper fraction

numerator is greater than or equal to denominator.

a whole number that divides exactly into another number a whole number that multiplies with another number to make a third number

Example: mixed number

5 4

proper factor

all the factors of a number except 1 and the number itself a number with more than two factors

whole number and a fraction.

Example: 2 = 2 + equivalent fractions

reduce

1 5

1 5

composite

fractions that represent the same number.

Example: 12 is a composite number The factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12

prime number

Example:

1 4 5 = = 2 8 10

we reduce a fraction by finding an equivalent fraction in which the numerator and denominator are as small as possible.

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.

Example:

12 4 = 15 5

power of (number)

the number of times a base number is multiplied by itself prime factor

a factor that is also a prime number

104
Index (exponent)

Example: 5 is a prime factor of 30

Read as
three squared or three to the power of two five cubed or five to the power of three

Expanded

Value

Base number

32 53
25 104

33 555
22222 10101010

9 125
32 10 000
4

two to the power of five ten to the power of four

factorise

to write a number as a product of its factors

12 = 4 3

square number

a number that results from multiplying another number by itself

prime factorisation

to write a number as a product of its prime factors

12 = 2 2 3 = 22 3

Example: 9 is a square number because 9 = 32 A square number can be represented in the shape of a square.

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

the smallest number that is the multiple of two or more other numbers cube number a number that results from multiplying another number three times by itself

least common multiple (LCM)

Example: the least common multiple of 3, 4 and 6 is 12

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

sequence

A sequence is a set of numbers that follow a pattern.

Example:

9 = 3 33 = 32 = 9

cube root of a number

one of three identical factors of a number that is the product of those factors

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:

Example:

125 = 5 555 = 53 = 125

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