GE6114

Math in the Modern World

Module 3- Mathematical Language and Symbols
Objectives:
1. Understand the language, symbols, and conventions of
mathematics.
2. Apply the nature of mathematics as a language.
3. Perform operations on mathematical expressions correctly.
What is Mathematical Language?
The language of mathematics is the system
used by mathematicians to communicate
mathematical ideas among themselves, and is
distinct from natural languages in that it aims to
communicate abstract, logical ideas with precision
and unambiguity.
What is Mathematical
Language?
o This language consists of a substrate of some natural
language
o(e.g., English).
o Using technical terms and grammatical conventions that
are peculiar to mathematical discourse (mathematical
jargon).
o mathematical jargon e.g., Quadratic Functions
o It is also supplemented by a highly specialized symbolic
notation for mathematical formulas
o(e.g., ∑ - Sigma – the sum - Summation).
Examples of Mathematical Language
Symbols
Mathematics uses symbols instead of words:
•There are the 10 digits: 0, 1, 2, ... 9
•There are symbols for operations: +, −, ×, /, ...
•And symbols that "stand in" for values: x, y, ...
•And many special symbols: π, =, <, ≤, ...
Examples of Mathematical Language
Letter Conventions
Letters often have special uses:

Those are not rules, but they are often used that way.
Examples of Mathematical Language
Examples of Mathematical Language
UPPERCASE vs lowercase
It is also common to use:
• lowercase for variables (like x or y) or counting values (like m or n) and
• UPPERCASE for sets (like X or Y) and special constants

It makes things clearer to read.

Examples of Mathematical Language
Nouns, Verbs, Sentences
We don't use the words "noun", "verb", or "pronoun" in Mathematics, but we
can imagine these similarities to English:
Examples of Mathematical Language
Nouns, Verbs, Sentences
The Purpose of Mathematical
Language
The Language of Mathematics was designed so we can
write about:

• Things like Numbers, Sets, Functions, etc.

• What we Do with those things (add, subtract,
multiply, divide, join together, etc.)
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
The Trinity
• A Universal Statement says that a certain property is true
for all elements in a set. (for all)
• A Conditional Statement is an if-then statement, that is, if
one thing is true then some other thing is also true. (if-then)
• A Existential Statement says that there is at least one thing
for which the property is true. (there exists)
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Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
Universal Conditional Statement - It refers to a statement
that is both universal and conditional which contains some
variation of the words “for all” and conditional statements
contain versions of the words “if-then”.

NOTE: Remember the Mathematical symbols shown below

∀ ∶ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍
→ ∶ 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
A universal conditional statement is a statement that is both
universal and conditional. Here is an example:
For all animals a, if a is a dog, then a is a mammal.
One of the most important facts about universal conditional
statements is that they can be rewritten in ways that make
them appear to be purely universal or purely conditional.
Example 1 – Rewriting an Universal
Conditional Statement
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:
For all real numbers x, if x is nonzero then x2 is positive.
a. If a real number is nonzero, then its square _____.
a. is positive
b. For all nonzero real numbers x, ____.
b. x2 is positive
c. If x ____, then ____.
c. is a nonzero real number; x2 is positive
d. The square of any nonzero real number is ____.
d. positive
e. All nonzero real numbers have ____.
e. Positive squares (or: squares that are positive)
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
A universal existential statement is a statement that is
universal because its first part says that a certain property is
true for all objects of a given type, and it is existential because
its second part asserts the existence of something. For
example:
 Every real number has an additive inverse.
In this statement the property “has an additive inverse”
applies universally to all real numbers.
Universal Existential Statement

“Has an additive inverse” asserts the existence of

something—an additive inverse—for each real number.

However, the nature of the additive inverse depends on

the real number; different real numbers have different
additive inverses.

e.g. 5 -> - 5 -10 -> 10 100 -> -100

Example 2 – Rewriting an Universal
Existential Statement
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:
Every pot has a lid.
a. All pots _____.
b. For all pots P, there is ____.
c. For all pots P, there is a lid L such that _____.
Solution:
a. have lids
b. a lid for P
c. L is a lid for P
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
Existential Universal Statements
An existential universal statement is a statement that is
existential because its first part asserts that a certain object
exists and is universal because its second part says that the
object satisfies a certain property for all things of a certain
kind.
Existential Universal Statements
For example:
There is a positive integer that is less than or equal to every positive
integer.
This statement is true because the number one is a positive integer,
and it satisfies the property of being less than or equal to every
positive integer.
Example 3 – Rewriting an Existential
Universal Statement
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement in three different ways:

There is a person in my class who is at least as old as every person in my class.

a. Some _____ is at least as old as _____.
a. person in my class; every person in my class
b. There is a person p in my class such that p is _____.
b. at least as old as every person in my class
c. There is a person p in my class with the property that for
every person q in my class, p is _____.
c. at least as old as q
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical
Statements(Variables)
Some of the most important mathematical concepts, such as
the definition of limit of a sequence, can only be defined using
phrases that are universal, existential, and conditional, and
they require the use of all three phrases “for all,” “there is,”
and “if-then.”
Introduction Set Theory
A set is a collection of things, usually numbers. We can list each element (or
"member") of a set inside curly brackets like this:

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• Sets are denoted by capital letters (e.g., A, B ,C, …,X, Y, Z).

• The Elements of a set are represented by lower case letters
(e.g., a, b ,c, …,x, y, z).
• Set- Roster Notation - It refers to denoting a set by enumerating all of its
elements between braces.
Introduction Set Theory

ε – Epsilon – Greek Letter

Introduction Set Theory
Introduction Set Theory
Notation of Sets
Notation of Sets
Example of Sets
Numerical Sets (Well Defined)
Numerical Sets (Well Defined)
Numerical Sets (Not Well Defined)
Activity 1.1
Member of a Set
Element of a Set
Representation of a Set
Tabular Form
Descriptive Form
Set Builder Form
Subsets
Subset. It refers to any two sets denoted by A and B
such that every element of A is also an element of B
then A is called subset of B, written A ⊆ B,
Sample of Subsets
Ordered Pair
It refers to given elements a and b, the symbol (a,b)
denotes the ordered pair consisting of a and b noting
that a is the first element of the pair b is the second
element. Any two ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are said
to be equal if and only if, a=c and b=d.
Cartesian Product
It refers to given sets A and B denoted by A x B read as
“A cross B” where the set of ordered pairs (a,b) where a
is in A and b is in B.
For example, if A = {1, 2} and B = {3, 4, 5}, then the
Cartesian Product of A and B is {(1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (2,
3), (2, 4), (2, 5)}. We write this product as A × B (read “A
cross B”).
That Ends the MODULE 3!