Basic Math Skills word list

Word or phrase Meaning Example(s) is less than / “<” is lower than 17 is less than 21. is greater than / “>” is higher than 21 is greater than 17. add / plus "combine" Add: 3 + 4 = ? sum answer to an addition The sum of 3 and 4 is 7. term something that is added In “3 + 4 = 7”, 3 is a term. subtract / minus "remove" Subtract: 5 – 2 = ? difference answer to a subtraction The difference of 5 and 2 is 3. multiply / times "copy" ("magnify"/"shrink") Multiply: ( 2 )( 3 ) = ? product answer to a multiplication The product of 2 and 3 is 6. × = factor something that is multiplied In 2 3 6 , 3 is a factor. ÷ divide “share” Divide: 10 2 = ? ÷ = answer to a In 10 2 5 , 5 is the quotient. ÷ = what is divided by In 10 2 5 , 2 is the divisor. remainder what is left over in a division When 17 is divided by 5, the remainder is 2. divided by vs. divided into “Divided into” means dividing in the 10 divided by 2 is 5. opposite order. 2 divided into 10 is 5. multiple (whole-) product 10 is a multiple of 5. is divisible by same as “is a multiple of” 10 is divisible by 5. even multiple of 2 10 is an even number. odd not a multiple of 2 17 is an odd number. prime only divisible by 1 and itself 17 is prime. composite not prime; divisible by a number 21 is composite, because 21 is other than 1 and itself divisible by 7. base a number repeatedly multiplied In 23=8 , the base is 2. exponent how many copies of the base are In 23=8 , the exponent is 3. being multiplied together power answer to an 8 is a power of 2. 8 is the third power of 2. ( 23=8 ) squared to the 2nd power 10 squared is 100. cubed to the 3rd power 10 cubed is 1000. parentheses / “( )” "Do this first." 9 - ( 5 - 3 ) = 7 ×[ − − ]= brackets / “[ ]” often used around parentheses 2 9 5 3 14 calculate / compute / simplify / All of these basically mean “Figure Calculate: 2 + 3 = evaluate out the value.” Simplify suggests the ANSWER: 5  × answer should “look simple”. Simplify: 2 3 5 Evaluate often involves substitution ANSWER: 17 into an expression. Evaluate: x + 3, given x = 4 ANSWER: 7 convert / express / factor / re-write All basically mean “Give a different Re-write 2( 3 + 7 ), using the expression with the same value.” distributive property. ANSWER: 2( 3 + 7 ) = 2( 3 ) + 2( 7 ). solve Find that make the Solve for x: 2 + x = 5 statement true. (Fill in the blank.) ANSWER: x = 3. half one of two equal "shares" One half of 60 is 30. third one of three equal "shares" One third of 60 is 20. fourth one of four equal "shares" One fourth of 60 is 15. tenth one of ten equal "shares" One tenth of 60 is 6. hundredth one of a hundred equal "shares" One hundredth of 7000 is 70. thousandth one of a thousand equal "shares" One thousandth of 7000 is 7. denominator number of "slices" in each whole item 3 In , the denominator is 4. 4 numerator number of "slices" in the portion 3 In , the numerator is 3. 4 equivalent a fraction "worth" the same amount 3 6 and 4 8 are equivalent . improper fraction a fraction equivalent to 1 or greater 7 is an improper fraction. 4 mixed number a number including both a whole 1 7 is a mixed number. number and a fraction 2 (fraction) 0.017 is a decimal, read aloud as “seventeen thousandths”. per "for each"; "goes with every" Lydia drove 210 miles in 3 hours. She drove 70 miles per hour. percent (%) "for each hundred" 7 percent of 200 is 14. length 1-dimensional measure The length of a meter stick is 100 cm. perimeter length around a region The perimeter of a ten-inch square measures 40 inches. area 2-dimensional measure The area of a ten-inch square measures 100 square inches. volume 3-dimensional measure The volume of a ten-inch cube measures 1000 cubic inches. right angle a 90-degree angle Every corner of a square forms a right angle. acute measuring less than 90 degrees A 70-degree angle is an acute angle. obtuse measuring more than 90 but A 125-degree angle is an obtuse less than 180 degrees angle. perpendicular intersecting at right angles Adjacent sides of a rectangle are perpendicular. complementary angles two angles whose measures add up A 20-degree angle and a 70-degree to 90 degrees angle are complementary angles. supplementary angles two angles whose measures add up A 70-degree angle and a 110-degree to 180 degrees angle are supplementary angles. radius the distance from the center of a The radius of a 10-inch pizza circle to any point on the circle measures 5 inches. diameter the distance from any point on a The diameter of a 10-inch pizza circle to the opposite point measures 10 inches. circumference the perimeter of a circle The circumference of a 10-inch pizza measures about 31.4 inches. mean total divided by the number of values The mean of 30, 30, 50, 80, 160 is 70. median middle value when data are in order The median of 30, 30, 50, 80, 160 is 50. mode most frequently occurring value The mode of 30, 30, 50, 80, 160 is 30.