Maths Terms for 11-13 Yr Olds

One way to simplify a fraction. The numerator and denominator are divided by a common factor. Also to ’reduce’ a fraction. Example: to simplify 6/16 the fraction is 'cancelled down' when the numerator and denominator are divided by 5 to give 1/3.

Volume, i.e. a measure of three-dimensional space, applied to liquids, materials that can be poured or the space within containers. Units include cubic centimetres and litres - a

A system used to define the position of a point in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. Two axes at right angles to each other are used to define the position of a point in a plane. The convention is to label the horizontal axis as the x-axis and the vertical axis as the y-axis. In this case, the origin is the intersection of the axes. The ordered pair of numbers (x, y) that defines the position of a point is the coordinate pair. Each of the numbers is a co-ordinate. The numbers are also known as Cartesian co-ordinates, after the French mathematician, René Descartes.

Data arising from measurements taken on a categorical (unordered discrete) variable. Examples: pupils\' favourite colours; states of matter- solids, liquids, gases, gels etc; nutrient groups in foods - carbohydrates, proteins, fats etc; settlement types - hamlet, village, town, city etc; and types of land use - offices, industry, shops, open space, residential etc.

Prefix meaning one-hundredth (of)

Symbol: cl. A unit of volume equivalent to one-hundredth of a litre.

Symbol: cm. A unit of linear measure, one hundredth of a metre.

The middle point.

A straight line segment joining two points on a circle or other curve.

A set of points in a plane at a fixed distance (the radius) from a fixed point (the centre) also in the plane; alternatively the path traced by a single point travelling in a plane at a fixed distance (the radius) from a fixed point (the centre) in the same plane. One half of a circle cut off by a diameter is a semi-circle.

The length of a circle (its perimeter). If the radius of a circle is r units, and the diameter d units, then the circumference is 2

In the direction in which the hands of clock travel, and the direction bearings and angles are usually measured. Anti-clockwise or counter-clockwise are terms used for the opposite direction.

Often used for the numerical coefficient. More generally, a factor of an algebraic term. Example: in the term 4xy, 4 is the numerical coefficient of xy but x is also the coefficient of 4y and y is the coefficient of 4x.

A fraction where the numerator and denominator are both integers. Also known as a simple or vulgar fraction. Contrast with a compound or complex fraction where the numerator or denominator or both contain fractions. See also decimal fraction.

Two angles with the sum of 90 degrees

Measures with two or more dimensions. Examples: speed calculated as distance

Adjective to describe a line or surface curving inwards (like the shape of a cave). A concave polygon has at least one re-entrant angle i.e. one interior angle greater than 180 degrees

A 3D shape consisting of a circular base, a vertex (point) in a different plane, and line segments joining all the points on the circle circumference to the vertex.

Adjective describing two or more geometric figures that are the same in every way except their position in space. Example: Two figures, where one is a reflection of the other, are congruent since one can be transposed onto the other without changing any angle or edge length.

Noun: congruence.

Following in order. Consecutive numbers are adjacent in a count. Examples: 5, 6, 7 are consecutive numbers. 25,30,35 are consecutive multiples of 5. In a polygon, consecutive sides share a common vertex and consecutive angles share a common side.

A number or quantity that does not vary. Example: in the equation y = 3x + 6, the 3 and 6 are constants, whereas x and y are variables.

Data arising from measurements taken on a continuous variable (examples: lengths of caterpillars; weight of crisp packets) that can take on an infinite or effectively infinite set of values. 

Adjective to describe a line or surface that describes outwards, like the shape of a circle. .

A convex polygon has all its interior angles less than or equal to 180 degrees

In elementary geometry, a point where two or more lines or line segments meet.

A measure of the strength of the association between two variables. High correlation implies a close relationship and low correlation a less close one. If an increase in one variable results in an increase in the other, then the correlation is positive. Example: there should be a positive correlation between your understanding of maths and your enjoyment of it. If an increase in one variable results in a decrease in the other, then the correlation is negative. The term zero correlation does not necessarily imply no relationship, but merely no linear relationship.

Where two straight-line segments are intersected by a third, as in the diagrams, the angles

In geometry, a section in which the plane that cuts a figure is at right angles to an axis of the figure. Example: In a cube, a square is revealed when a plane cuts at right angles through a face.

1. In geometry, a three-dimensional figure with six identical, square faces. Adjoining edges and faces are at right angles.

2. In number and algebra, the result of multiplying the same value by itself, then by itself again.

Example: 2 x 2 x 2 is written a 2³.

This is said as '2 cubed', or '2 to the power of three'.

Adjective to describe a mathematical expression of degree three, i.e. with a power equal to 3. 

A cubic polynomial is one of the type ax³ + bx² + cx +d, where the highest power is equal to 3. The coefficients b,c, and d could equal zero which would just leave the cubic term.

Symbol: cm³.

A curve described by an algebraic equation containing at least one cubic term, i.e. a term raised to the power of three, and no terms with higher powers than three.

Symbol: m³.

A three-dimensional figure with six rectangular faces. Different to a cube in that the lengths of the sides are not necessarily the same; a 3D rectangle.

A graph for displaying cumulative frequency. At a given point on the horizontal axis the sum of the frequencies of all the values up to that point is represented by a point. These graphs always curve upwards because the vertical co-ordinates will be proportional to the sum of frequencies, which can't decrease.

A three-dimensional object whose uniform cross-section is a circle. A right cylinder can be defined as having circular bases with a curved surface joining them, this surface formed by line segments joining corresponding points on the circles. The centre of one base lies over the centre of the second.