Keen Kite A -Z of Maths Vocabulary: A Teacher’s Survival Guide for the Primary Curriculum

Abacus • a.m.

Analogue clock • Arc

A

A KS1

B

Abacus

C

An abacus is a simple calculating tool.

Stones, beads or rings are used to count and calculate. This example has beads to slide along rods.

D E

Adjacent

KS2

Adjacent means near or next to something.

KS1

Analogue clock

An analogue clock measures time using hands moving around a dial.

For this set of number cards, 4 is adjacent to 9.

KS1

Anticlockwise

B C

When something turns anticlockwise, it goes round in the opposite direction to the hands on a clock.

D E

3 6 2 9 4

F G

F G

䉴 beside

H

Adjust

I J KS2

K

Acute angle

L

An acute angle is smaller than a rightangle. It is an angle that is between 0° and 90°

M

If you change the scale it will adjust the shape of a graph.

Algebra

N

䉴 digital clock

To adjust something means to change or alter it.

30°

P Q

䉴 angle, obtuse angle, reflex angle, right angle

R

Addition

KS1

If y + 3 = 5, what is the value of y?

The amount by which something turns is an angle. It is a measure of rotation, measured in degrees (°).

T U V

The addition of 12 and 7 gives 19.

W

12 + 7 = 19

X

䉴 sum, total

Y

K L

The approximate answer to

M

19 × 31 is 600

N

KS2

O P

䉴 estimate, round KS2

Arc

Q R

An arc is a curved line that would make a complete circle if you continued it. A rainbow is an arc of colour in the sky.

S T

䉴 equation, formula

a.m.

KS2

Your birthday is an annual event. It would be great if you could celebrate it more than once a year!

a

U

rc

Addition is finding the total of two or more numbers. The + sign in a calculation shows that numbers are being added together.

䉴 acute angle, degree, obtuse angle, reflex angle, right angle

Annual

An approximate answer is very close to the right answer, but not exact. The sign ≈ means ‘is approximately equal to’.

19 × 31 ≈ 600

An annual event is one that happens once a year.

y=2

S

J

KS1

Angle

KS2

Algebra is a kind of language for mathematics that uses letters to represent numbers. It is used to help solve problems and investigate number patterns.

I

KS2

Approximate

angle

O

H

䉴 clockwise, rotate

KS2

V

The short way of writing ‘ante meridiem’ is a.m., which means before midday or noon.

The lessons started at 9.15 a.m.

W X

䉴 chord, circle, circumference

Y

䉴 midday, p.m.

Z

6

Z

7

Narrow • Nonagon

North • Numerator

A

A KS1

B

Narrow

C

Narrow means thin, or of small width.

D

Sam cut a narrow strip from a piece of card, 1.5 cm wide.

E F

Number

H

KS2

Natural numbers are the set of positive numbers, as used in counting. Zero can be included or not – it is a matter of choice.

I J K

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… are all natural numbers.

L M

A number less than zero is a negative number. The minus sign (–) is used to show when a number is negative.

Nautical mile

O Q R

West

S T

Nearest

Net

KS2

䉴 compass, east, south, west

A net is a flat shape made from polygons that can be folded and joined to make into a polyhedron.

Nought

KS1

Nought is an old word meaning nothing or zero. It is written as the digit 0. Nowadays we use zero more often in mathematics.

If you take seven away from seven you are left with nought.

A nonagon is a polygon with nine straight sides.

KS2

Number

V W

38.7 is 39 rounded to the nearest whole number.

X Y

䉴 round

G

KS1

I J

4 + 8 = 12 is a number sentence.

Numeral

K L

KS1

M

A numeral is a word or figure written down to represent a number.

Numerator

We use the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 to make our numbers.

Number bond

H

A number sentence is a statement used in mathematics which has numbers instead of words.

KS1

This is a regular nonagon.

The nearest is the closest whole number or multiple of ten, used when rounding.

F

N O

Five, 5 and V are all numerals.

䉴 zero

Nonagon

E

South

䉴 digit

U

D

East

A number is a symbol used for counting.

KS2

C

A number line is a line with a scale showing numbers in order.

Number sentence

䉴 minus, positive number

KS2

1 knot is a unit of speed of one nautical mile per hour.

B

–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4

This is a net of a cube.

A nautical mile is a measurement of length used at sea. It is equal to 1852 metres.

P

North is one of the four main points of the compass, opposite to south.

Number line

KS1

North

䉴 integer, whole number

N

KS1

North

–14, –8 and –25 are all negative numbers.

䉴 width

G

Negative number

KS2

KS1

Number bonds are pairs of numbers that make a particular total.

P

KS2

Q

The numerator is the number above the line in a fraction. The number below the line, the denominator, shows you the number of equal parts. The numerator tells you how many of these equal parts you are using.

R S T U V

In the fraction 43 , the numerator is 3.

3 4

of 20 is 15.

W

(20 ÷ 4) × 3 = 15.

X

䉴 polygon

The number bonds for 8 are 0 + 8, 1 + 7, 2 + 6, 3 + 5 and 4 + 4.

䉴 denominator, fraction

Y

Z

Z

8

9

Table • Tesselation

Tetrahedron • Tonne A

A KS1

B

Table

C

A table is a list of numbers or information in rows and columns.

D

× 1 2 3

E F G

1 1 2 3

2 2 4 6

3 3 6 9

KS1

Take away (–)

H J

To take away is to remove items or numbers from an amount. The – sign shows that one number is being taken away from another.

K

16 take away 7 equals 9. 16 – 7 = 9

I

L M

䉴 difference, subtraction KS1

Tally

N

To tally is to count by making marks. The most common method is to mark off sets of 5.

O P Q

car colour red blue white total

R S T

Tangram

U V W

tally

frequency 12 7 3 22

Temperature

KS1

The temperature is a measure of how hot or how cold something is. Temperature is measured in degrees (°) as a number on a scale. The most common temperature scales are the Celsius (°C) scale and the Fahrenheit (°F) scale.

Tetrahedron

A tetrahedron is a solid shape with four triangular faces A regular tetrahedron has an equilateral triangle for each face.

The temperature rose by 8°C today, reaching a maximum of 24°C. 䉴 celsius, climate, Fahrenheit

Tenth (10th)

Thousandth (1000th)

October is the tenth month in the year.

2. noun 1 A tenth (10 ) is a fraction. One-tenth is one out of ten parts.

KS2

Tesselation

1. adjective Thousandth (1000th) is the ordinal number of a thousand.

The thousandth person to visit the website was given a prize.

C

Time is an occasion or period measured in seconds, minutes and hours.

D

The actual time varies around the world. When it is midday in London it is 7.00 a.m. in New York.

E F G

A metre is a thousandth of a kilometre.

KS1

A solid shape is three-dimensional because it has length, width and height.

A tesselation is a pattern made by fitting plane shapes together without gaps. height length

䉴 two-dimensional

breadth

H

KS1

I

Times is a way of saying ‘groups of’ or ‘lots of’ in a multiplication fact.

J K

3 times 8 is 3 lots of 8 (8 + 8 + 8), which is 24.

L M

䉴 multiply

2. adjective 1 A thousandth is the fraction (1000 ).

Three-dimensional (3D) KS2

B

KS2

KS1

1. adjective The tenth is the one after the ninth if they are put in order.

KS1

䉴 analogue clock, calendar, digital clock

X Y

Time

Times (×)

A millimetre is a tenth of a centimetre.

A tangram is a Chinese puzzle in which a square is cut into five triangles, one square and one parallelogram. The shapes are then used to make different figures.

KS2

Ton

N

KS2

O

A ton is a measure of mass or weight in the imperial system. A ton is 2240 pounds and is a little more than a tonne in the metric system.

P Q R

A large car weighs about 1 ton.

S

䉴 tonne

Tonne

T

KS2

A tonne is a measure of mass or weight in the metric system. A tonne is 1000 kilograms (kg) and is a little less than a ton in the imperial system.

U V W X

10 large adults weigh about 1 tonne.

Y

䉴 ton

Z

10 0

Z

11