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, to take one quantity away from another

subtract
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

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x or * or times Example:
5 x 3 or 5 * 3 or 5 3
Five times three

multiplication a mathematical operation where a

(to multiply) 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

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= 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

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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

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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 1
, 0.5, 0.142857142857... , ...
4 7

irrationals non-terminating and non-repeating decimals

3.14159295359... , 2 1.414213... ,
2.010010001... , ...

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fraction any part of a group, number or whole

3 numerator
Example:
4 denominator

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

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

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

5 2 5 Example:
, ,
9 3 6 2 2
4 =4+
3 3
five ninths, two thirds, Four and two thirds
five sixths

(Read the top number as a

cardinal number, followed by
the ordinal number + s )

5
five over thirty
30

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proper fraction numerator is less than the denominator.
4
Example:
5

improper numerator is greater than or equal to the

fraction denominator.
5
Example:
4

mixed number whole number and a fraction.

1 1
Example: 2 2
5 5

equivalent fractions that represent the same number.

fractions 1 4 5
Example:
2 8 10

reduce We reduce a fraction by finding an

equivalent fraction in which the numerator
and the denominator are as small as possible.
12 4
Example:
15 5

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

multiplied by itself

104
Index
(exponent) Read as Expanded Value
Base number

three squared or
32 33 9
three to the power of two

five cubed or
53 555 125
five to the power of three

25 two to the power of five 22222 32

104 ten to the power of four 10101010 10 000

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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

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factorise to write a number as a product of its factors
12 4 3

prime to write a number as a product of its prime

factorisation factors
12 2 2 3 22 3

greatest the biggest number that will divide two or

common more other numbers exactly
factor or
divisor (GCF) Example: the greatest common factor of
30, 45 and 60 is 15

least common the smallest number that is the multiple of two

multiple or more other numbers
(LCM)
Example: the least common multiple of
3, 4 and 6 is 12

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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

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square root of a number when multiplied by itself gives the
a number original number

Example: 9 3 33 32 9

cube root of a one of three identical factors of a number

number that is the product of those factors

Example:
3
125 5 555 53 125

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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 number would be 27 + 6 = 33

b) The rule is to multiply by 3 each time

So the next number would be 54 3 = 162

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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

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