Math Terminology Worksheet | Math Prefixes and Numerical Terms with Answer Key

Math terminology worksheet on prefixes

This math terminology worksheet is a 13 page packet with 80 questions on the prefixes used in math words. The worksheet is marked for grades 4 to 8.

Students learn what prefixes such as octa-, poly-, hexa- and deca- mean in shape names, and what kilo-, centi-, milli-, mega- and giga- mean in metric units.

Teachers who need math prefixes practice for geometry and measurement will find four sections of 20 questions here, and the math terminology worksheet comes with an answer key, an answer sheet and a lesson plan.

What’s on the pages

The worksheet has four sections, and each one has its own heading and directions.

• Multiple choice: 20 questions on the meaning of a prefix, such as octa- in octagon, the prefix for one-hundredth in centimeter and poly- in polygon.
• Fill in the blank: 20 questions that use a Word Bank with some extra words, such as the unit equal to one million watts, a regular polygon with five sides and the word for dividing a segment into two equal parts.
• True or false: 20 statements, such as that bi- means three (false), that semi- means whole (false) and that a nonagon has nine sides.
• Short answer: 20 questions that ask for an explanation, such as the numerical meaning of giga-, what hexa- means with a polygon that uses it, and what deca- means in a decagon.

The questions go in both directions. Students use a prefix to decode a word, and they use a word to recall what its prefix means.

What’s in the download

• Student worksheet: 13 pages
• Answer key: 14 pages, with a short explanation after each answer
• Answer sheet: 4 pages
• Lesson plan: 2 pages

The four parts add up to 33 pages, and everything comes as PDF.

How to use this math terminology worksheet

The lesson plan is set for 60 to 90 minutes. Its objectives are to identify Greek and Latin number prefixes used in geometry and algebra, to understand and convert metric prefixes such as kilo-, centi-, milli-, mega- and giga-, and to use prefixes to define terms and shapes.

The materials list a prefix chart or anchor chart, a whiteboard and markers, and the worksheet. The plan starts with a 10 minute warm-up on common prefixes such as mono-, bi-, tri-, quad- and penta-, and explains how metric prefixes scale a base unit by ten, a thousand, a million and a billion.

Students do Section 1 with the teacher, Section 2 on their own with the Word Bank, and then the true or false and short answer sections. The explanations in the key help students who want to see how a prefix leads to a meaning.

A prefix chart on the wall pairs well with this worksheet. Students can add new prefixes to it as they meet them in other lessons.

The answer sheet keeps the worksheet clean for reuse.

Teachers often look for a math prefixes worksheet that covers both shapes and units. This one does, and the metric prefixes practice in the multiple choice and short answer sections helps with measurement conversions. The math prefixes with answer key included also makes the worksheet useful for a student who studies alone.

Where it fits

Use it for a geometry unit, a measurement unit, a vocabulary center, English learner support or homework. Homeschool families can use one section a day.

Take a look at the preview pages before you buy, so you can see the worksheet, the answer key and the answer sheet.

For more practice, browse the math worksheets, the wider set of printable worksheets or the whole shop.

Once students know the prefixes, new math words become easier to guess. This math terminology worksheet puts that skill in one place and gives them 80 chances to use it.

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