100+ Words Related to Math

September 25, 2023

What was your favorite subject in school? If you’re like many people, you might say history or reading. Every once in a while, you’ll find a few folks who say that math was their favorite school subject. Others say the very thought of mathematics gives them a headache. Perhaps you’re somewhere in between. Either way, it’s always good to boost your understanding of words related to math.

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Arithmetic

Perhaps you’ve heard older people refer to the “three Rs” of learning. One of those Rs stands for “arithmetic,” one of the many math words you’ll come across in school. This word refers to the elementary level of mathematics, where you learn basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Geometry

Students usually begin studying geometry in their freshman or sophomore years of high school. Younger children sometimes learn basic geometrical concepts, such as studying shapes. So, what is geometry? It is a branch of mathematics focused on the properties of space, such as distance, shape, size, and relative position. Some students learn words related to math and concepts associated with geometry in between their studies of Algebra I and Algebra II. Others study geometry after completing both levels of algebra.

Calculus

Would it really be a discussion about words related to math without mentioning calculus? If you excelled in math or were on a learning track geared to upper sciences and mathematics, you may have taken calculus. This is a complex area of study that uses methods and systems of calculation and reasoning. The two basic types of calculus are “integral calculus” and “differential calculus.” A main focus of study in this branch of mathematics is “rates of change.” Examples of this include rates of speed acceleration or changes in velocity.

Ratio

If you were to say that the ratio of students to chaperones on a school field trip is three to one (3:1), it means that for every three students attending the trip, there is one chaperone. Ratio deals with the comparison of amounts. Specifically, ratio refers to how often one quantity or number contains another. If you have six dark socks in a drawer and four white ones, you could say the ratio of dark socks to white socks is six to four (6:4).

Integer

Another common mathematical term is “integer,” which basically means “whole number.” A complete number (i.e., not a fraction) is an integer. This type of number can be zero. It also includes positive and negative numerals. Every integer (except zero, which is a placeholder) has an additive inverse. Think of this like an opposite. For example, the additive inverse of positive five is negative five.

Radius

In a previous section, you learned more about the mathematical term “geometry.” Radius is a geometrical term. If you draw a circle and then draw lines inside it that extend to the circle’s perimeter, you have drawn a radius. A radius is similar to a spoke on a wheel. It is a line segment within a circle, extending from its center to any section of the perimeter.

Integrals

If you’re a calculus enthusiast, then you are familiar with integrals. This is a term associated with calculus. It describes a continuous analog of a sum. You can use integrals to calculate areas and volumes using a process called integration.

Diameter

Just like a radius is a line segment that extends from the center of a circle (or sphere) to its perimeter, diameter is a mathematical word that refers to a line segment within a sphere that stretches from one side to the other. The key here is that the line segment’s endpoints that form a diameter lie on the circle.

Exponent

In certain types of math, you can say that numbers of power. It means you assign a number to represent the power to which you would like another number to be raised. To illustrate an exponent, you write it as a tiny number just above and to the right of the whole number, which, in this case, is known as the base number. For example, 32 shows a base number “3” with an exponent of “2,” which means that you want to increase the base number by its own value two times. So, 33 means three times itself, which equals nine.

Square Root

The term “square root” is a bit challenging to explain. If you have a number, such as 16, and want to determine its square root, you would ask yourself what number, when multiplied by itself, equals 16? In this case, the answer is four. A square root is a number that, when squared (multiplied by itself), equals another specific number. The square root of 36 is six, and the square root of 49 is seven.