What does quadrant mean?
Word: Quadrant
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Quadrant means one of four equal parts of something, such as a circle or a graph, made by two lines that cross at right angles.
Word origin: Comes from Latin, from a word meaning a fourth part.
How do you spell quadrant?
Syllables: quad - rant
Tricky part: The last vowel is said as a weak "uh", so students guess -ent and write quadrent. It ends in -ant.
Watch out for: quadrent, quadrint
Memory tip: End it the way giant ends, with ant.
Quadrant in a sentence
Example 1: Our maths teacher drew the four quadrants of a graph on the board.
Example 2: In the school garden, each quadrant grows a different vegetable.
Example 3: The fielding coach told each of us to guard one quadrant of the ground.
Fun Fact
Before modern instruments, sailors and astronomers used a quarter-circle tool, also called a quadrant, to measure how high the sun or a star stood above the horizon.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
In the treasure-hunt game, the clue said the next flag was hidden in the north-east qaudrant of the school feild.
a) qaudrant and feild
b) treasure and hidden
c) only feild
d) only qaudrant
Show answer
a) qaudrant and feild. Quadrant needs u straight after q, and field puts i before e.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Fold a paper circle in half, then in half again. Each folded piece is a ___ of the circle.
a) tangent
b) quadrant
c) crescent
d) chord
Show answer
b) quadrant. Two folds make four equal pieces; a chord and a tangent are lines, and a crescent is a curved shape like a new moon.
Word Tally
Give 3 marks for each misspelt word. What is the total?
quadrant, parralel, perpendicular, triangel, hexagon, diagonal
a) 3
b) 9
c) 6
d) 12
Show answer
c) 6. Parallel and triangle are the two misspelt words, so the total is 6.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ant' pronounced differently?
a) pleasant
b) elegant
c) quadrant
d) plant
Show answer
d) plant. In plant the a is stressed and clearly said; in the other three, ant is a weak 'uhnt'.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The minute hand of a clock sweeps across one quadrant of the clock face. How long does that take?
a) 30 minutes
b) 60 minutes
c) 45 minutes
d) 15 minutes
Show answer
d) 15 minutes
2. In which school subject are you most likely to meet the word quadrant?
a) physical education
b) music
c) handwriting
d) mathematics
Show answer
d) mathematics
