Math Glossary

Plain definitions of math terms parents run into while helping with homework. Each one explains the idea, where kids usually get stuck, and how to talk it through at home.

• Equivalent Fractions

  What equivalent fractions are, why two different-looking fractions can be the same amount, and a simple way to check it with your child at home.

• Order of Operations

  What order of operations means, why a math problem can only have one right answer, and how to walk through it with your child without needing to recite an acronym.

• Place Value

  What place value means in elementary math, why it is the foundation under addition, subtraction, and reading big numbers, and how to talk about it with your child.

• Slope

  What slope means on a graph, how rise over run works, and a plain way to talk your child through reading a line's steepness and direction.