Math Vocabulary (Prime, Composite, Factor, Product, Square, Numbers, Analyze, Array)

Math Vocabulary Lesson (Prime, Composite, Factor, Product, Square Numbers, Array, Analyze)

by Christine Kovacs

​Let's see if you know these vocabulary!

Hopefully, you remember them from last year...​

prime​

• ​NOT Amazon Prime!

• ​NOT prime time on TV (does anyone even call it that any more?)

• ​NOT prime rib (Vegetarians don't eat that-gross!)

• ​NOT prime meridian-this is math, not social studies.

• ​NOT the Prime Minister (We live in the United States. Not for us!)

• ​Think prime number.

​But, think about all of those words. What do they have in common?

​They all mean something like "the best" or "the only one" or "the first one."

​

Hmmm...

Can we use that information to help figure it out?

​prime

​A prime number cannot be divided by any other numbers without leaving a remainder. An example of a prime number is 13. It can only be divided by 1 and 13.

​Here's the dictionary definition...

​WHAT?!?!

​Write this down...

​prime - this is a number that has only 2 factors, 1 and itself.

​

​example: 1 x 7 = 7 (no other whole numbers can be multiplied to get a product of 7)

​composite

• ​NOT composite floor boards - those are for porches and decks

• ​NOT compost - that's to help plants grow

• ​NOT compound like compound words - this is not ELA class​

​What do composite boards, compost, and compound words all have in common?

​They are all a bunch of small things put together!

​Here's the dictionary definition...

In math, composite numbers can be defined as the whole numbers that have more than two factors. 

Whole numbers that are not prime are composite numbers, because they are divisible by more than two numbers. ​

​composite

​WHAT?!?!

​SO....

​A composite number is one that has more than 2 factors.

​Write that down!! Draw the picture!

​factor

​I know you know what this means!

​Spill!

​

​

​Did you write that down?

​Next....

​product

• ​It's almost like this word was defined with the last word.

• ​Check your notes, if you don't know what this means.

​product = answer to multiplication problem

​Write this down!

​square numbers

• ​Think about a square in your head

• ​What does it look like?

• ​Think about the arrays we made.

• ​Were any of them square?

• ​They would have to have the same number of rows as they do columns.

• ​Hmmm...This one is 4 x 4

​A square number is the result when a number has been multiplied by itself. For example, 25 is a square number because it’s 5 lots of 5, or 5 x 5. This is also written as 5² (“five squared”). 100 is also a square number because it’s 10² (10 x 10, or “ten squared”).

​Here's what you need to write down...

​A square number is the answer when you multiply a number by itself.

​Examples: 2 x 2 = 4

​ 7 x 7 = 49

​ 9 x 9 = 81

​4, 49, and 81 are the square numbers

​2 to go!

​array

• ​Think about multiplication!

• ​What does it look like if you draw a picture of a multiplication problem?

array​

​An arrangement of objects, pictures, or numbers in rows and columns is called an array. Arrays are useful representations of multiplication concepts (among other ideas in mathematics). This array has 4 rows and 3 columns. ... Notice that the rows in each array are equal in length. Think of the rows as equal groups.

​Okay, that was a lot. Let's simplify that.

​Write this down...

​array = a set that shows equal groups in rows and columns

​Draw the picture, too!

​Last one!!

​analyze

• What do you think it means in math?

• ​You are going to go over this word in reading, too. It is a really important one, so we'll hang it in the hall.

​Write this down!

​That's it for

this week!