Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 23

NOTE:
xk - k can be called a superscript (or index)
xq - q is called a subscript and is written slightly below the baseline
“cc” can mean the following:
 cubic centimetre(s)/centimeter(s) – for instance the cubic capacity of an
engine
 or carbon copy “used in a business letter or email to show that you are
sending a copy to someone else”
4
√a is read the fourth, 5√a – the fifth,6√a - the sixth, etc. root of a

5. GEOMETRY

5.1. Two-dimensional geometry

A. Lines, angles, triangles

TRANSLATION WORK:

line ....................................................................................
 solid ........................................................................
 broken .....................................................................
 dotted ......................................................................
 diagonal ..................................................................
 wavy ........................................................................
 straight ................................................................... .
 curved .....................................................................
 parallel ....................................................................
 perpendicular ..........................................................
 intersecting ..............................................................
line segment ......................................................................
points/endpoints ................................................................
vector ................................................................................
ray .....................................................................................
angle ..................................................................................
 acute ........................................................................
24 Part I

 obtuse ......................................................................
 right .........................................................................
 straight ....................................................................
 full ...........................................................................
vertex ................................................................................
triangle ..............................................................................
 acute ........................................................................
 obtuse ......................................................................
 equilateral ...............................................................
 isosceles ..................................................................
 scalene ....................................................................

MATCHING
Ex. 17 Match the names of lines (1, 2, 3…) with their equivalent representations
(a, b, c…):

1. dotted [_____] a. - - - - - - -
2. straight [_____] b.
3. curved [_____] c.
………………….
4. perpendicular [_____] d.
5. intersecting [_____] e.
6. diagonal [_____] f.
_____________
7. broken [_____] g.
8. parallel [_____] h.
9. vertical [_____] i.

GAP-FILL
Ex. 18 Complete the following rules/definitions with the words given below:
full acute vertex segment obtuse extends right straight
1. a line ______________ AB has two distinct endpoints: A and B
2. a ray/vector begins at its endpoint and ________________ in one direction
3. an ________________ angle measures between 0 and 90 degrees
 Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 25

4. a _______________ angle is an angle measuring 90º

5. an _______________ angle measures over 90º and less than 180º
6. a _______________ angle = 180º
7. a _______________ angle = 360º
8. the _______________ of an angle “is the point where two rays that form
the angle intersect”6

MATCHING
Ex. 19 Read the following definitions and match the triangles to their names
(there is often more than one option possible).
a triangle is a three-sided polygon
an equilateral triangle has all three sides of equal length (all the angles
measure 60º)
an isosceles triangle has at least two sides of equal length
a scalene triangle is a triangle having three sides of different length
an acute triangle has three acute angles
an obtuse triangle has one obtuse angle

6
Kucharska-Raczunas, Maciejewska, 2010, p 56
26 Part I

1
a. equilateral ___
2
b. isosceles ___

3 c. obtuse ___

d. right-angled ___
4
e. scalene ___
5
f. acute ___

SPEAKING – PAIR WORK

Ex. 20 Read / dictate and draw:
Student A: read the first description given below
Student B: follow the description and do the drawing on a separate sheet of
paper. Then, change roles for the other description.
(1) There is a horizontal base line. On the line, there are 2 equal
circles supporting one rectangular shape. In the middle of
the rectangle, there is a square whose bottom and top sides
come within the sides of the rectangle. On the left side of the
rectangle and at its lower corner, there is an isosceles
triangle whose base comes within the side of the rectangle
and is approximately equal to 2/3 of its side. The vertex of
the triangle is the center of another circle whose diameter
equals 1/3 of the side of the triangle.
(2) There is a vertical line which intersects a horizontal line. On
the right side of the vertical line, there is a square whose one
side comes within the vertical line. On the other side of the
vertical line, there is a circle. There is another horizontal
line which joins the center of the circle to the center of the
square.
 Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 27

GAP-FILL
Ex. 21 Complete the following sentences:
1. An __________ angle measures between 0 and 90 degrees.
2. A ___________ angle measures 90 degrees.
3. A ___________ triangle has three sides of different lengths.
4. An ___________ angle measures between 90 and 180 degrees.
5. An __________________ triangle is a triangle in which all 3 sides are
equal.
6. A triangle is a ______-_______ polygon.
7. The point where two rays that form an angle intersect is called the
____________ of the angle.
8. A line segments has two distinct ____________.

B. Polygons

TRANSLATION WORK:

polygons ............................................................................
quadrilateral ......................................................................
square ................................................................................
rectangle ............................................................................
parallelogram ....................................................................
rhombus ............................................................................
trapezoid ............................................................................
pentagon ............................................................................
hexagon .............................................................................
heptagon ............................................................................
octagon ..............................................................................
nonagon .............................................................................
decagon ............................................................................ .
circle ..................................................................................
chord .................................................................................
circumference ................................................................... .
diameter ............................................................................
radius .................................................................................
28 Part I

READING

Pentagon
The Pentagon, which is the Headquarters of the United States Department of
Defense, takes its name after its design shape of a pentagon and is the biggest
office building in the world. Hardly anybody knows that there is a central plaza
inside it (also in the shape of a pentagon), which is informally known as “ground
zero”7.
How to make a pentagon?
In order to make a regular pentagon8 (all edges of the same length), you need
a rectangular strip of paper, yet it must be relatively long. For instance, it can be
approximately 20 cm long and 3cm wide.
Now, having a shape like this:
make this:

See the answer at the bottom of page 33.

Polygons
Polygons can be regular (the sides are all of the same length and the angles are
all the same) or irregular/non-regular
a square - a four-sided polygon having all sides of equal length

a rectangle - a four-sided polygon having all right angles

a parallelogram - a four-sided polygon having two pairs of parallel sides

7
[Link] [accessed: March, 2013]
8
Adapted from Steward, 2008, p 34
 Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 29

a rhombus - a quadrilateral whose all sides are of the same length

a trapezoid - a four-sided polygon which has exactly one pair of parallel sides

a pentagon - a five-sided polygon

a hexagon - a six-sided polygon

a heptagon - a seven-sided polygon

an octagon - an eight-sided polygon,

a nonagon - a nine-sided polygon

a decagon – a ten-sided polygon

Circle
r – radius c–? (see TASK below)
d – diameter

TASK: mark the circle’s circumference

r in the picture of a circle,
circumference (c) c=2πr
d a
a – chord

TASK: True or False?

30 Part I

The mathematical constant pi (π) represents the ratio of a circle's circumference

to its diameter.[____] (See the bottom of the page for the answer9)

TRUE/FALSE
Ex. 22 State whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F)
1. The diagonals in a square intersect at a right angle. [____]
2. A hexagon is a seven-sided polygon. [____]
3. The sum of the angles of a rectangle is 360 degrees. [____]
4. The sides of a polygon intersect in exactly two places each. [____]
5. A trapezoid is a quadrilateral which has all sides of equal length. [____]
6. The point where two rays that form an angle intersect is called the
bisector of the angle [____]
7. A polygon can only be made of line segments. [____]

5.2. Three-dimensional geometric figures

TRANSLATION WORK:

cube .........................................................................
cuboid ......................................................................
cubical .....................................................................
cone .........................................................................
cylinder ...................................................................
pyramid ...................................................................
sphere ......................................................................
hemisphere ..............................................................
tetrahedron ..............................................................
volume ....................................................................

9
Yes.
Answer:
The cat lived 15 years, clue: x- cat’s lifespan, so x/3 +x/6+2x/9+2x/10+1/6+1=x
 Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 31

READING

A spherical dilemma
The sphere is more important than the cube. This provocative thesis can be
supported by countless arguments, and hands are raised when it comes to giving
examples in favor of this statement. The arguments range from serious ones
pointing to spherical planets, atoms, or lenses, to such touching ones showing
the very first toy to be a spherical ball. Those in the minority then put forward
quite a rational argument that the playing dice is cubical and so are the stairs.
Finally, they claim that the brick, which is a basic building block most widely
known to the human kind, is a cuboid. Of course, an intense scientific debate can
be initiated emphasizing the fact that soap bubbles could never be cubical
because their surface tension allows for spherical shapes exclusively. The
discussion would continue. But does it really matter? 

MATCHING
Ex. 23 Match the following 3D figures to their names

a. b. 1. tetrahedron [____]

2. sphere [____]

3. cylinder [____]
c. d. 4. pyramid [____]

5. cube [____]

6. cone [____]
e. f.
32 Part I

TASK: Complete the table by writing the equivalent adjective, use the glossary
at the end of the book:

noun adjective noun adjective

cone …………… hemisphere ……………

cube …………… cylinder ……………
sphere …………… pyramid ……………

GAP-FILL
Ex. 24 Read the following descriptions and name the proper shape.

1. It is a three-dimensional figure which has six matching sides [_____].

2. It is a three-dimensional shape having a circular base and a single vertex
[_____].
3. It is a three-dimensional shape having all of its points at the same
distance from its center. [_____].
4. It is a four-sided three-dimensional shape, each face of which is
a triangle. [_____].
5. It is a three-dimensional shape with a square base and 4 triangle sides
[_____].
6. It is a three-dimensional shape having two circular bases of the same
shape and size that are parallel. [_____].

GAP-FILL
Ex. 25 Analyze this simple drawing of an electric boiler and complete the
description below with the correct words. .

A boiler is a (1) c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with a (2) r _ _ _ _ _ r

and the (3) h _ _ _ _ _ h.
In order to calculate its surface area we need to add:
The area of the top and bottom (4) c _ _ _ _ _ _ (2 π r2) +
the area of the side (2πrh).
 Mathematics and Graphs – Vocabulary Practice for Academic English Studies 33

Therefore, the surface area (A) is (5) e _ _ _ _ to:

A= 2 π r2 + 2 π r h
A = 2 π r (r + h) A is equal to 2 π r times r + h in (6) b_ _ _ _ _ _ _

GAP-FILL
Ex. 26 Complete the following description of a pyramid and a sphere with the
correct words.
The (1) v_ _ _ _ _ V of a pyramid is V = 1/3 Bh, where B is the (2) a_ _ _ of
the base and h is the (3) h_ _ _ _ _ (h is (4)p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to the plane
of the base)
The base of a pyramid can be a regular (5) p_ _ _ _ _ _. If the base is circular,
the pyramid becomes a (6) c _ _ _.
In classical geometry, the volume V of a sphere reads as follows:
V= 4/3 π r3 where r3 stands for (7) r _ _ _ _ _ to the (8) p_ _ _ _ of 3;

GAP-FILL
Ex. 27 How to calculate the volume V of a capsule tank10 ? Complete the
description.

We treat a capsule as an object composed of a (1)

s_ _ _ _ _ of diameter d split in half and
separated by a (2) c_ _ _ _ _ _ _ of diameter d
and (3) h_ _ _ _ _ a.

Therefore, the total volume V = Vs +Vc

Vs= 4/3πr3 where:
r is (4) r_ _ _ _ _ r = d : 2 d is (5) d_ _ _ _ _ _ by 2
r3 is r (6) c_ _ _ _
Vc= π r a,
2
r2 is r (7) s _ _ _ _ _ _

10
Adapted from: [Link]
[accessed: Dec, 2012]
In order to make a pentagon, you must tie a knot (very carefully), and fold the ends.

Steward, 2008, p 269.

34 Part I

NOTE:
a line in geometry extends indefinitely in both directions
a right angle = 90º, whereas a straight angle = 180º
a 90-degree triangle is a right-angled triangle
an equilateral triangle – its sides are all of the same length
an equiangular triangle- its angles are all of the same measure
Remember the difference between solid vs straight lines.
Volume and capacity:
volume – volume is a measure of how much space a 3D shape takes up.
capacity – a term in economics, management, engineering, etc., only similar to
volume
half of a sphere is called a hemisphere