Mathematical Language and Symbol 1

The Language of Mathematics

Lesson I. Language of Mathematics

Objectives:

At the end of the session, the students are expected to:

1. discuss the language, symbols, and conventions used in mathematics;
2. recognize that mathematics is a useful language.

Lesson Proper:

Figure 1: ENGLISH versus MATHEMATICS

ENGLISH

NOUN SENTENCE
(name given to object of interest) (must state a complete thought)

PERSON PLACE THING TRUE (T) FALSE (F) SOMETIMES TRUE/SOMETIMES

FALSE (ST/SF)
Carol Manila dog The capital of the The capital of the
Philippines is Makati. The dog is black.
Philippines is Manila.

MATHEMATICS

EXPRESSION SENTENCE
(name given to mathematical object of interest) (must state a complete thought)

NUMBER SET FUNCTION MATRIX ORDERED TRUE FALSE (ST/SF)

PAIR
8 {8} 𝑓(𝑥) 1 4 (𝑥, 𝑦) 1+1 =2 1 + 1 = 11 𝑥=1
[ ]
−2 3

Regrettably, many people see mathematics only as a collection of arcane rules for
manipulating unusual symbols -something far removed from speech and writing. Probably
this results from the fact that most elementary mathematics courses - arithmetic in
elementary school, algebra and trigonometry in high school, and calculus in college - are
procedural courses focusing on techniques for working with numbers, symbols, and
equations. Although this formal technique is important, formulae are not ends in themselves
but derive their real importance only as vehicles for expression of deeper mathematical
thoughts. More advanced courses - such as geometry, discrete mathematics, and abstract
algebra are concerned not just with manipulating symbols and solving equations but with
understanding the interrelationships among a whole host of sophisticated concepts. The
patterns and relationships among these concepts constitute the “true problems” of
mathematics. Just as procedural mathematics courses tend to focus on “plug and chug” with
an emphasis on symbolic manipulation, so conceptual mathematics courses focus on proof
and argument with an emphasis on correct, clear, and concise expression of ideas. This is
difficult but crucial leap for students to make in transitioning from rudimentary to advanced
mathematical thinking.

KAREN MAE H. PALABRICA

 Mathematical Language and Symbol 2
The Language of Mathematics

Characteristics of Mathematical Language

1. Precise
Mathematical language is able to make very fine distinctions or definitions among a
set of mathematical symbols unlike in ordinary speech which is full of ambiguities,
innuendoes, hidden agendas, and unspoken cultural assumptions.

2. Concise
Long expositions or sentences can be expressed briefly using the language of
mathematics. Mathematical language and symbols cut short the lengthy statements
and help the expression of ideas or things in the exact form. Mathematical language
is free from verbosity and helps into the point, clear and exact expression of facts.

3. Symbolic
Mathematical language can describe a subset of the real world using only the symbols.
The use of symbols makes the mathematics language more elegant and precise than
any other language. For example, the commutative law of addition and multiplication
in real number system can be stated in the verbal form as: ‘the addition and
multiplication of two real numbers is independent of the order in which they are
combined’.

4. Powerful
Mathematical language is able to express complex thoughts with relative ease.

5. Devoid of emotional content

There is absence of emotion from formal mathematical discourse.
6. Nontemporal
There is no past, present, or future in mathematics – it is not affected by time.

Mathematics has its own language. There are many symbols in mathematics and most are
used as a precise form of shorthand. In order to understand the meaning, here are the
two things that will guide us:

1. Context - the particular topics being studied

2. Convention - where mathematicians and scientists have decided that particular symbols
will have particular meaning

Common Mathematical Symbols

1. + (plus, add, increase or positive)
As it stands, ‘+’ clearly has some sort of meaning, but we really need to
understand it within a context. So, for example, if we see the + symbol written in the
sum 2+3, we understand that the context is one of adding the two numbers, 2and 3,
to give 5. So here, the symbol + is an instruction to add two numbers together. Let us
look at another context in which we see the + symbol. If you study telephone numbers
on business cards you will often see them given, for example, as +639 44 191 123
4567. In this context, the + symbol means that, in addition to the usual telephone
number, a person dialing that number from overseas will need to include the country
code (in this case 44). So we see that the + symbol can have completely different
meanings in different contexts, and it is important to be clear about the context.

KAREN MAE H. PALABRICA

 Mathematical Language and Symbol 3
The Language of Mathematics

2. – (minus, subtract, take away, negative and decrease)

The − symbol written in 6 − 4 means 6 subtract 4, and we know the answer
is 2. In a different context, we might see −5◦C, meaning a temperature of minus five
degrees Celsius, that is five degrees below zero.

3. × (multiply, lots of, and times)

This is really just a shorthand for adding. For example, if we see 6+6+6+6+6
we have five lots of six, or five sixes, and in our shorthand we can write this as 5 × 6.
Suppose we have a + a + a + a + a. We might write this expression as 5 × a. However,
in this context, especially in hand-written work, we may confuse the × symbol with
the letter x, and so we would often write simply 5a. We see that our shorthand has
become even shorter. Multiplication is one of those rare occasions when we can omit
a symbol altogether.

4. ÷, / , − (the division symbols)

10
Division is symbolized in several different ways. For example 10 ÷ 5, 5 , 10/5
are three equivalent ways of writing ten divided by 5. We might also read this as ‘how
many times will 5 go into 10?’.

5. The = sign and its variants

Another symbol used frequently is the equals sign =. The = sign does not mean
anything on its own - we need a context. For example, in the sum 1+2= 3, what we
are saying is that whatever we have on the left-hand side is exactly equal to whatever
we have on the right-hand side. Variations on the equals sign are
≠ is not equal to
≈ approximately equal to
≥ is greater than or equal to
≤ is less than or equal to

Examples:
x ≥ 2 means x can equal 2, but it might also be any value larger than 2
y ≤ 7 means that y might equal 7 or might be any number less than 7

6. Variables
Another form of mathematical symbol. These are used when quantities take
different values. Imagine taking a car journey and think about the speed at which you
are travelling. As you travel along your speed may change. So, speed is a variable -
that is, a quantity which can change. We will be using letters to stand for quantities
like this. For example, we might use the letter v for speed. To a large extent we can
use any letter we choose, although there are conventions. We might choose to use d
for distance and t for time. By convention, we use u to be an initial speed, and v to be
a final speed. In a different context, v might refer to volume. We need to check the
𝑑
context to fully understand the meaning. If we see v = 𝑡 where d = distance, and t =
4
time, then we would know that v is a speed. On the other hand, if we see v = πr3
3
where r is the radius of a sphere, we know that v stands for the volume of the sphere.
Returning to our car journey. We might want to record the journey time on several
different days. In this context we might choose to use a subscript and write t 1, t2, t3, t4,
t5 for the journey times on each of five different days. Alternatively, we could write tm,
tt, tw, th, tf for the journey times on Monday through to Friday. Note how we have used
th for the journey time on Thursday to avoid confusion with tt for the journey time on

KAREN MAE H. PALABRICA

 Mathematical Language and Symbol 4
The Language of Mathematics

Tuesday. So, a subscript is a small number, or other symbol, written to the bottom
right of a variable to distinguish different instances of that variable.

7. The Greek alphabet

You will find that Greek letters are used in many calculations. For example, the
Greek letter ‘pi’, written π, is used to represent the number 3.14159.... This number
continues forever without repeating. We often use α (‘alpha’), β (‘beta’), and θ
(‘theta’) to represent angles. The Greek capital letter ‘sigma’ or Σ is frequently used
to represent the addition of several numbers, and you will see it provided for this
purpose on the toolbar of any spreadsheet program.

For future reference the full alphabet is given below:

Figure 2: The Greek Alphabet

Other Mathematical Symbols

Almost all mathematical statements, relations, operations are expressed using
mathematical symbols. Here are some mathematical symbols that can be used:

Σ the sum of
∃ there exists
∀ for every (for any)
∈ element of (or member of)
∉ not an element of (or not a member of)
⊆ subset of
⇒ if …, then
⇔ if and only if
ℝ set of real numbers
ℕ set of natural numbers
ℤ set of integers
ℚ set of rational numbers
∞ infinity

Problems in physics like freely falling bodies, speed, and acceleration;

quantities like the chemical content of vegetables; the use of mathematical modeling
in biological disease modelling; and the formulas employed in the social sciences can
all be expressed using mathematical sentences or formulas. Mathematics describes
abstract structures as well. There are areas of pure mathematics which deal with
abstract structures, which have no known physical counterparts at all. These are
studied in areas of mathematics like abstract algebra, linear algebra, topology, real
analysis, and complex analysis.

KAREN MAE H. PALABRICA

 Mathematical Language and Symbol 5
The Language of Mathematics

Mathematics, therefore, is the language of the sciences, business, economics,

music, architecture, arts, and even politics. There is an intimate connection between
the language of mathematics and the English language. The left brain hemisphere
which is responsible for controlling language is also the same part of the brain in
charge of tasks involving mathematics. It is the left brain hemisphere that coordinates
logical or analytical thinking while the right brain hemisphere is responsible for
creative thinking.

Activity:

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Provide relevant example/s.

Mathematics is full of unnecessary symbols, rules,
and conventions.

Exercises:
Read the given quotation and answer the questions below.

Mathematics cannot be learned without being understood

- it is not a matter of formulae being committed to
memory but of acquiring a capacity for
systematic thought.
-Peter Hilton

1. What are the important ideas embedded in the quote?

2. What does the quotation mean? Express the message of the quote in a poster, poem, essay
or song.

References:

Ethel Cecille Baltazar, C. R. (2018). Mathematics in the Modern World. South Triangle,
Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Jamison, R. E. (2000). Learning the Language of Mathematics. South Carolina, United

States of America.

MathCentre. (2009). MathCentre. Retrieved

fromhttp://www.mash.dept.shef.ac.uk/Resources/web-mathlanguage.pdf

KAREN MAE H. PALABRICA