MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Chapter 2: MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS

Objectives: At the end of the chapter, the students are expected to:

1. Discuss the language, symbols, and conventions of mathematics.

2. Explain the nature of mathematics as a language.
3. Perform operations on mathematical expressions correctly.
4. Acknowledge that mathematics is a useful language.
5. Use different types of reasoning to justify statements and arguments made about mathematics
and mathematical concepts.
6. Write clear and logical proofs

Lessons:

1. The Fundamental Elements of the Language of Mathematics

A. Numbers
B. Sets
C. Relations
D. Functions
E. Operations
2. Mathematics as a Language
3. Mathematical Reasoning

Language as defined by dictionaries is a body of words or symbols and the systems for their use
common to people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same
cultural tradition. It is a systematic means of communicating through the use of sounds or conventional
symbols (Chen, 2010, p.353). Aside from the symbols, one's understanding of the language is
enormously enhanced by knowledge of basic grammar or syntax. This understanding is essential for
anybody who wants to learn more about the language and its usage. It would be than that one is able to
communicate with others. The same is true of mathematics. One needs to learn and understand
mathematical language in order to think, comprehend, and communicate mathematically. Mathematics
as a language is composed of vocabulary consisting of symbols and words and grammar which comprise.
Is a set of rules on how to use Omit symbols.

Mathematical symbols combined with words can convey complex, powerful ideas more
efficiently than any other language. It has been a tool and a great instrument for knowledge and wisdom
to develop and flourish. The history of man's civilization is parallel with the history and development of
mathematics. It has become a universal language.

Thus, the object of this section is to explain the most important mathematical "parts of speech",
some of which are similar to those of natural languages and others quite different.
Lesson 2. The Fundamental Elements of the Language of Mathematics

Mathematics deals with ideas -- relationships, quantities, processes, ways of figuring out certain
kinds of things, reasoning, generalizing, and many more. It uses words, but it is not about words. The
ideas when they are shared need to have means for them to be conveyed. A plain knowledge of the
mathematical term does not imply that we know the language. Knowing "denominator" and "addend" is
not math and does not make one mathematical. Words help us communicate.

The nature of the language of mathematics has a number of distinctive features that is different
from the commonly spoken language. It includes aspects that are particular to mathematics and as
applied to other disciplines.

The language of mathematics has a specialist mathematical vocabulary, which includes:

 Technical terms specific to mathematics (e.g. equilateral, quotient, probability);

 Specialist use of more general terms (e.g. line, factor, frequency);
 Mathematical terms that we use every day for conveying ideas (e.g. function,
expression, difference, area).

It also includes a special syntax, particularly in relation to the expression of logical relationships.
Thus, the use of and, of, or, a, if, and then to define mathematical relationships are all significant. It
involves the use of mathematical symbols. Such symbols range from numerals to more specialized
notation. These symbols have a syntax of their own. Mathematics has a different way of communicating,
including written and spoken forms of mathematical explanation, proof, or definition, as well as text
types like word problems. These broader ways of using language are important in expressing
mathematical ideas and reasoning.

We are already familiar with most of the basic symbols that are used. For example, the digits 0,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 have become part of our everyday Lives. With it being the extension of our notion
about numbers, we understand its meaning. These symbols in mathematics are a precise form of
shorthand notation. We need to be confident when using these symbols, and to gain that confidence we
need to understand their meaning by considering the following:

 Context - this is the context in which we are working, or the particular topics being
studied, and
 Convention - where mathematicians and scientists have decided that particular symbols
will have particular meaning.

The advantage of mathematical notation, both symbolic and graphical, is that it is highly
compact (conveying a lot of information and ideas in very little space) and focused (conveying the
important information for the current situation and omitting the rest).

A. NUMBERS

A number is a symbol, either a figure or word that expresses a certain value or a specified
quantity that is determined by count. There are several kinds of numbers that, in combination with logic
for interrelating them, form interesting abstract systems and can be useful in a variety of very different
ways. The age-old concept of numbers probably originated from the need to count how many things
there were in a collection of things.

The Hindu-Arabic number system, as commonly used today, is based on ten symbols (0, 1-,
2, . . . 9) and rules for combining them in which position is crucial. Its position determines its place value.
The basic unit are ones, tens and hundreds. They may either be in the unit or thousands, millions or
more.

There are different kinds of numbers. The numbers that come from counting things are whole
numbers, which are the numbers we mostly use in everyday life. A whole number by itself is an
abstraction for how many things there are in a set but not for the things themselves. "Three" can refer
to chairs, trees, people, or anything else. But in most practical situations, we want to know what the
objects are, as well as how many there are. Thus, the answer to most calculations is a magnitude - a
number connected to a label. If some people travelled 165 miles in 3 hours, their average speed was 55
miles per hour, not 55. In this instance, 165, 3, and 55 are numbers; 165 miles, 3 hours, and 55 miles per
hour are magnitudes. The labels are important in keeping track of the meanings of the numbers.
Fractions are numbers we use to stand for a part of something or a comparison of two quantities. One
common kind of comparison occurs when some magnitude such as length or weight is measured—that
is, is compared to a standard unit such as a meter or a pound.

Fractions may be written in decimal form, specifically if it is a terminating decimals. For example,
the ordinary fraction 3/4 and the decimal fraction 0.75 both represent the same number. However, the
two expressions may have somewhat different implications: 3/4 could be used to simply mean closer to
3/4 than to 2/4 or 4/4, whereas 0.75 may imply being closer to 0.75 than to 0.74 or 0.76—a much more
precise specification.

More flexibility in mathematics is provided by the use of negative numbers, which can be
thought of in terms of a number line. A number line lays consecutive numbers at equal intervals along a
straight line centered on zero. The numbers on one side of zero are called positive, and those on the
other side, are negative. If the numbers to the right of zero are positive, the numbers to the left of zero
are negative; if the distance above sea level is positive, the distance below sea level is negative; if
income is positive, debt is negative. If 2:15 is the scheduled time of lift-off, 2:10 is "minus 5 minutes."
The complete range of numbers (positive, zero, and negative) allows any number to be subtracted from
any other and still give an answer.

Numbers have many different uses, some of which are not quantitative or strictly logical. In
counting, for example, zero has a special meaning of nothing. Yet, on the common temperature scale,
zero is only an arbitrary position and does not mean an absence of temperature (or of anything else).
Numbers can be used to put things in order and to indicate only which is higher or lower than others—
not to specify by how much (for example, the order of winners in a race, street addresses, or scores on
psychological tests for which numerical differences have no uniform meaning). And numbers are
commonly used simply to identify things without any meaningful order, as in telephone numbers and as
used on athletic shirts and license plates.

B. SETS
 In an attempt to better understand the universe, ancient astronomers classified certain groups
of stars as constellations. In regional sports competitions, groupings are done to facilitate the
management of activities. Schools are organized into districts or areas, too. It is still extremely helpful to
classify items into groups that enable us to find order and meaning in our complicated world.

Basic Properties of Sets

A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects. It is usually represented by capital letters. A

set is said to be well-defined if the elements in a set are specifically listed or if its elements are described
to determine whether an object in question is an element or not an element of the set. The objects that
belong in a set are the elements, or members, of the set. The objects of a set are also separated by
commas.

Examples:

A = (a, e, o, u)

B = {set of plane figures}

C = {Ca, Au, Ag}

A set can be represented by listing its elements between braces, like A = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0}.
This is the tabular or roster form. The symbol E is used to express that an element is part of a set (or
belongs to a set), for instance, 3 Є A. An alternative way to define a set, called set builder notation, is by
stating a property (predicate) P(x) verified by exactly its elements, for instance, A = {x Є Z I 1 ≤ x ≤ 5)
which means "the set of integers x such that x is from 1 to 5, that is, A – {1.2.3,4,5).

In general, A = { x Є U I p(x)I, where U is the domain of discourse in which the Predicate P(x)
must be interpreted, or A = P(x)} if the domain of discourse for P(x) is implicitly understood. :x is read as
"x, such that". In set theory, the term universal set is often used in place of "domain of discourse" for a
given predicate. Others refer to this way of defining a set, the rule form. Illustrations:

Roster Rule
(1,2,3) IxI x is a natural number less than 4}
is a whole number less than 4)
1,2,4.6,8,101 {xI x is an even integer between 0 and 12}
{kI k is a multiple of 3 between -1 and 12}

Some important sets are the following:

1. The set of natural numbers N=

2. The set of whole numbers W = (0,1,2,3, . . . }

3. The set of integers Z = I-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3, . . .

4. The set of rational numbers (terminating or repeating decimals), Q

5. The set of irrational numbers (non-terminating, non-repeating decimals), Q'. The number V-2 and the
transcendental number n. are irrational numbers.

6. The set of real numbers,

7. The set of complex numbers, C

Definitions Regarding Sets

A set is finite if the number of elements in the set is a whole number. The cardinal number of a
finite set is the number of elements in the set. It contains only a countable number of elements.

Example: A = {barangays in Baguio City}

A set is infinite if the counting of elements has no end. The set of integers Z or positive integers
N (natural numbers), negative integers Z-, and nonnegative integers (or whole numbers) are infinite sets.

Z = { , -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, ... } Z- = I-1, -2, -3,

N ={1, 2, 3, . } W = 10, 1, 2,...)

The set of all elements that are being considered is called the universal set. We will use the letter U to
denote the universal set. If A 11, 2, 3) and B 13, 4, 5) then the universal set U, considering no other set
present is U 11, 2, 3, 4, 5).

The empty set, or null set, is the set that contains no elements. The symbol 0 or I is used to
represent the empty set. As an example of the empty set, consider the set of natural numbers that are
negative integers. The set ;0} is not empty since it contains one element.

Set A, A= { 0 }, is not an empty set since it has one element. The set with only one element is a
unit set.

Set A is equal to set B, denoted by A = B, if and only if A and B have exactly the same elements.

Example: A = {h, o, p, e} B = fp,o,e,h1

Set A is equivalent to set B, denoted by A - B, if and only if A and B have the same number of
elements. The cardinality of the two sets is the same.

Example:

A ={1,o,v,e}

B = (a,fl,0,9)

The sets C = {a, b, c)and D = {4, 5, 6} are equivalent sets. Also, {2} – (0). Equal sets are equivalent,
but not vice versa.

Sets that have common elements are joint sets. The sets A = 14, 5, 6; and B = {6, 10, 11} are joint
sets, since 6 is a common to both A and B. The sets C = {r, I, c, h} and D = {p, o, b, r, e} are joint sets
because r is common to both C and D.
 Two sets are disjoint if they have no common elements. The set E = {a , b, c} and F = {e, f, g} are
disjoint sets, since no element is common. The set 101 and {0} are also disjoint sets. The positive odd
integer Zo = {1, 3, 5, } and the nonnegative even integers Ze = {0, 2, 4, are disjoint sets. Also, the negative
integers Z- = {-1, -2, ...} and the nonnegative integers W = (0, 1, 2, ...I are disjoint sets.

Set A is a subset of set B denoted by A c B, if every element of A belongs to B.

In Symbol, A c B if x € A, then x E B.

Aside from the definition, if there is at least one element found in B but not in A, then A is a
proper subset of B denoted by A c B. There are two improper subsets of any given set, the empty set and
the set itself. The power set P of A, denoted by P(A) is defined as the set of all subsets of A.

The following generalizations are consequences of the definition.

a. Every set is a subset of itself, i.e. A c A.

b. An empty set is always a subset of every set, i.e. 0 c A.

c. The sets (0) and (0) are not empty, since each contains one element.

Take note that the number of subsets of a given set is 2n where n denotes number of elements
of the set. In the preceding example, A has 22 = 4 subsets. Example:

The set B = (a, b, c) has 23 subsets. The power set has the element with the breakdown as
follows:

Improper subset with 3 elements: (a, b, c), or B

Proper subsets with 2 elements: (a, b), (a, c), {b, c)

Proper subsets with 1 element: (a), (b), (C)

Improper subset with no element: {}

Power set of B = P (B) = (B, 0, (a, b}, ch ch (a), {b}, (co}

The complement of a set A, denoted by A', is the set of all elements of the universal set U that
are not elements of A.

There are two fundamental results concerning the universal set and the empty set. Because the
universal set contains all elements under consideration, the complement of the universal set is the
empty set. Conversely, the complement of the empty set is the universal set, because the empty set has
no elements and the universal set contains all the elements under consideration. Using mathematical
notation, we state these fundamental results as follows:

U' = 0 and 0'.= U.

The English logician John Venn (1834-1923) developed diagrams that can be used to illustrate
sets and relationships between sets. This diagram facilitated one's conceptualization of the sets and
relations within it. It is called the Venn diagram. In a Venn diagram, the universal set is represented by a
rectangular region and subsets of the universal set are generally represented by oval or circular regions
drawn inside the rectangle. Others would prefer different types of polygons to emphasize differences
between them. The Venn diagram below shows a universal set and one of its subsets, labeled as set A.
The size of the circle is not a concern. The region outside of the circle, but inside of the rectangle,
represents the set A'.

A
A\

A Venn diagram