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