LANGUAGE OF

MATHEMATICS
Elements
Symbols of Maths
English Language vs Mathematics Language
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 At the end of this chapter, the students
should be able to:
 discuss the language, symbols, and conventions
of mathematics
 translate an English expression into a math
expression
 translate an English sentence into a math
equation
 describe sets and the relations between them
 define or describe relations and functions of sets
 acknowledge that mathematics is a useful
language
SOLVE THIS:
 Ana est deux fois plus âgée que son frère et
la somme de leurs âges est de 36 ans. Quel
âge ont-ils?
DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE
 Language is a systematic way of
communicating with other people by the use
of sounds or conventional symbols.
 It is a system of word used in a particular
discipline.
 It is also a system of abstract codes which
represent antecedent events and concepts
and arranged in ordered sequence to form
words, with rules.
IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE
 Language is important to understand and
express one’s ideas, feelings or opinion.

 Language serves as the transmitter of

information and knowledge.

 It helps to construct social identity.

 Misunderstanding of one’s language leads to

confusion and misconcpetions.
WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW
THE LANGUAGE OF MATHS?
 The language of Math was designed so we
can write about things such as numbers, sets,
functions, etc. and what we do with those
things like perform operations such as
addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
LANGUAGE OF MATHEMATICS
 Precise means able to make very fine
distinctions or definitions

 Concise means able to say things briefly

 Powerful means able to express complex

thought with relative ease
ELEMENTS OF THE LANGUAGE
OF MATHEMATICS
 Nouns Negations
 Pronouns Sentence Structure
 Verbs Paragraph Structure
 Sentences Conventions
 Vocabulary Abbreviations
 Grammar
 Syntax
 Synonyms
 COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS MATHS
LANGUAGES
ENGLISH MATHEMATICS
SYMBOLS English Alphabet and English Alphabet,
punctuation Numerals, Greek
Letters, Grouping
Symbols, Special
Symbols

Name Noun Expressions

Pronoun Variable
Complete thought Sentence Sentence
Action Verbs Operations and other
actions(e.g. simplify,
rationalize
What’s in a sentence Verbs Equality, inequality,
membership in a set
Attribute of a sentence Fact or fiction True or false
Synonyms Different words but The same object but
the same meaning different names
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATH LANGUAGES
 English – Noun
= is used to name things we want to talk
about

 Math – Expression
= refers to the object of interest
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS MATH
LANGUAGES
 English – Noun
= is used to name things we want to talk
about

Example:
Carol loves Mathematics.
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS MATH
LANGUAGES
 English – Noun
= is used to name things we want to talk
about

Examples:
Carol loves Mathematics
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS MATH
LANGUAGES
 Math – Expression
= refers to the object of interest.

Examples:
5, 1.2 + 6, 3x – 3
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS MATH
LANGUAGES
 Math – Expression
= refers to the object of interest.

Examples:
5, 1.2 + 6, x, 3x – 3

Other types of expressions:

* numbers, sets, functions, ordered pairs,
matrices, vectors, groups, etc.
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – Pronoun
= another way of calling a noun

 Math - Variable
= is the symbol that represents any
constant value
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – Pronoun
= another way of calling a noun

Example:

She loves Mathematics.

COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 Math - variable
= is the symbol that represents any
constant value.

Examples :
x–2
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHEMATICS LANGUAGES
 English/Math – Sentence
= must show complete thought (noun and
verb)
= can express true, false or sometimes true
or sometimes false idea.

Examples:

Carol loves Mathematics 1.2 + 6 = 7.2

COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – Verbs
= action words

 Math = Verbs
= action words such as equals,
inequalities, simplify, rationalize…
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – verbs
= action words

Example:
Ana computes for the value of x.
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – verbs
= action words

Example:
Ana computes for the value of x.
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 Math = Verbs
= action words such as equals,
inequalities, simplify, rationalize…

Examples:
2x + 5 = 7
Simplify the expression (x2 - 2x + 5) – 5(x – 4).
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 Math = Verbs
= action words such as equal,
inequalities, simplify, rationalize…

Examples:
2x + 5 = 7
Simplify the expression (x2 - 2x + 5) – 5(x – 4).
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 English – Synonyms
= different words with the same meaning
(have nearest meaning)

Example : Group - association

COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 Mathematics – Synonyms
= the same object but different names

Example : 1 + 2 + 5 and 8
½ + ½ , 2 - 1, 5/5,
THE VOCABULARY OF MATHEMATICS
 The language of mathematics has an
abundant vocabulary of specialist and
technical terms and also uses symbols
instead of words which are essential to the
power of modern mathematics.

 Some of the symbols commonly used in

Mathematics are the following:
MATHEMATICS IS A SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE
R   Set of Real numbers Element of (or member of)
N Set of Natural numbers ⊆ Subset of
Z Set of Integers Proper subset
Z+ Set of Positive Integers → If - then
Z- Set of Negative Integers ↔ If and only if
Q Set of Rational Numbers Σ The sum of
 For every (for any) Infinity
There exists
THE GRAMMAR OF MATHEMATICS
 The mathematical notation used for formulas
has its own grammar, not dependent on a
specific natural language, but shared
internationally by mathematicians regardless
of their mother tongues.
 This includes the conventions that the
formulas are written predominantly left to
right.
 The Latin alphabet is commonly used for
simple variables and parameters.
 There are structural rules governing the use
of symbols representing mathematical
objects.
COMPARISON: ENGLISH VS
MATHS LANGUAGES
 Some Difficulties in the Math Language
1. Different meaning/use of words in Math and
English
“and” is equivalent to plus
“is” may have different meaning

2. The different uses of numbers : cardinal,

ordinal or nominal

3. Mathematical objects may be expressed in

many ways such as sets and functions
 Operation Symbol Words Algebraic Word
Expression Equivalent
Plus, sum, - two more
Addition more than, x+2 than a
+ increased by, number
add to, total - x increased
by 2
Subtracted - z minus 5
Subtraction from, minus, z-5 - a number
- difference z
of, less than, subtracted
decreased by 5
by, less - five less
than a
number z
 Operation Symbol Words Algebraic Word
expression equivalent
Times, - 7 times a
Multiplication product, 7(k) or 7•k number k
•, ( ) multiply, or simply 7k - The
twice, of product of
7 and k
Divided by, - w divided
Division
÷, / quotient,
into, ratio of
w ÷ 8 or
w/8
by 8
- The
quotient
of a
number w
and 8
TRANSLATION ENGLISH STATEMENTS
TO MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS
Exercise:
Translate each of the following phrases into
mathematical expression. Use as few
variables as possible:

1. The sum of a number and 10

2. The product of two numbers
3. The product of -1 and a number
4. One-half times the sum of two numbers
5. Twice a number
TRANSLATION ENGLISH STATEMENTS
TO MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS
Choose a quantity to be represented by a
variable, then write the mathematical
expression for each.

1. Lota’s age in 5 years

Answer : let x = be the present age of Lota

x + 5 = Lota’s age in 5 years

TRANSLATION ENGLISH STATEMENTS
TO MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS
2. A three-digit numbers whose hundreds digit
is half the tens digit and the tens digit is 2
more than the units digit.

Let x = be the unit’s digit

x+2 = tens digit
½ (x + 2) = hundreds digit
TRANSLATION E. STATEMENTS
TO MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS
3. The total interest earned after one year
when P 100 000 is invested part at 6 %
annual interest rate and the remaining part
at 7.5 % annual interest rate.

Let x = be the part to be invested at 7.5%

100,000 – x = the part to be invested at 6%
y = be the total earned interest

0.06(P 100 000 – x) + 0.075x = y

TRANSLATING AN ENGLISH
SENTENCE INTO A MATHEMATICAL
SENTENCE OR EQUATION
 A statement of equality of two algebraic
expressions which involves one or more
literals (variables) is called an equation.
 Ex.
x+3=7
TRANSLATING AN ENGLISH
SENTENCE INTO A MATHEMATICAL
SENTENCE OR EQUATION
 Ex.)
  The quotient of 3 and a number is .

 Remember that the word ‘quotient’ translates into

division. The phrase ‘a number’ will be replaced by
v and the word ‘is’ will be replaced by the equality
symbol =. Hence, putting them together, we have


 KINDS OF MATHEMATICAL
STATEMENTS
 A universal statement says that a certain
property is true for all elements in a set.
Ex. All positive numbers are greater than
zero.

 A conditional statement says that if one

thing is true then some other things also has
to be true.
Ex. If 378 is divisible by 18, then 378 is
divisible by 6.
 KINDS OF MATHEMATICAL
STATEMENTS
 An existential statement says that there is
at least one thing for which the property is
true.

Ex. There is a prime number that is even.

 TRANSLATING STATEMENTS INTO
MATHEMATICAL NOTATION

1. The sum of any two real numbers is also a

real number.

Answer:
 a, b  , a + b  
TRANSLATING STATEMENTS INTO
MATHEMATICAL NOTATIONS
2. The square of any real number x is greater
than or equal to zero.

Answer :
 x  , x2  0
 TRANSLATING MATHEMATICAL
NOTATION INTO ENGLISH SENTENCE
1.  x , y  , x - y = 0

Answer:
The difference of any two real numbers
x and y is zero.
 TRANSLATING MATHEMATICAL
NOTATION INTO ENGLISH SENTENCE
2.  m, n  , m – n  m + n

Answer:

There exist integers m and n, such

that m minus n is less than or
equal to m plus n.
 THE LANGUAGE OF SETS
 Use of the word set as a formal
mathematical term was introduced in
1879 by Georg Cantor (1845 – 1918).

 Set is a well-defined collection of

objects, which may be concrete or
abstract.
THE LANGUAGE OF SETS
  
Sets are conventionally denoted by capital
letters. Small letters are used as names for
the objects.

 The object of a set is called its member or

element. The symbol “” denotes membership
““ denotes non-membership to a set.

 The number of elements of a set is called its

cardinal number and is denoted by n(A).
DESCRIBING SETS
The set-Roster method
A method used to describe or define a
set by explicitly listing its elements
between braces.
Ex)
1. Set A is the set of distinct letters in
the word “paper”
A = {p, a, e, r}
DESCRIBING SETS
The Set-builder notation
In this method, a set is defined by
enclosing in braces a descriptive phrase,
and agreeing that the elements of the
set have the described/common
property.
This method uses the symbols “x” and
“|”
SET-BUILDER NOTATION
 Let S denote a set and let P(x) be a
property that elements of S may or
may not satisfy. We may define a new
set to be the set of all elements x in
S such that P(x) is true.

{x є S | P(x) }
 USING THE SET-BUILDER
NOTATION
  Given that R denotes the set of all real
numbers, Z the set of all integers, and
the set of all positive integers, describe
each of the following sets.

 a. {x є R | -2 < x < 5}

 b. {x є Z | -2 < x < 5}

+
 c. {x є Z | -2 < x < 5}
SUBSETS
 If A and B are sets, then A is called a subset
of B, written A ⊆ B, if and only if, every
element of A is also an element of B.

 A ⊆ B means that For all elements x, if x ∈

A then x ∈ B.

 A is contained in B and B contains A.

 A ⊈ B means that, there is at least one

element x such that x ∈ A and x ∉ B.
PROPER SUBSET
 Let A and B be sets. A is a proper subset of
B if and only if every element of A is in B but
there is at least one element of B that is not
in A.

 A⊂B
ORDERED PAIRS
 Given elements a and b, the symbol (a,
b) denotes the ordered pair consisting
of a and b together with the
specification that a is the first element
of the pair and b is the second
element. Two ordered pairs (a, b) and
(c, d) are equal if, and only if, a = c
and b = d. Symbolically:

(a, b)=(c, d) means that a = c and b = d

 THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND
FUNCTIONS
 RELATION
Let A and B be sets. A relation R from A to B
is a subset of A x B. Given an ordered pair
(x, y) in A x B, x is related to y by R, written
x R y, if, and only if, (x, y) is in R. The first
element is called the domain of R and the
second element is called the range.

x R y means that (x, y) є R.

EXAMPLE
Let A = {1, 2} and B = {1, 2, 3} and define a
relation R from A to B as follows:
Given any (x, y) є A x B,
(x, y) є R means that (x – y) / 2 is an
integer.

1. State explicitly which ordered pairs are in

A x B and which are in R.
2. Is 1 R 3? Is 2 R 3? Is 2 R 2?
3. What are the domain and range of R?
 THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND
FUNCTIONS
 FUNCTION
A relation F from a set A to a set B is a
function if the following conditions are
satified:

1. For every element x in A, there is an

element y in B such that (x, y) є F.
2. For all elements x in A and y and z in B,
if (x, y) є F and (x, z) є F, and y = z.
 THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND
FUNCTIONS
 FUNCTION
Properties (1) and (2) can be stated less
formally as follows: A relation F from A to B
is a function if, and only if,

1. Every element of A is the first element of

an ordered pair of F.

2. No two distinct ordered pairs in F have

the same first element.
 THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND
FUNCTIONS
Example:
1. Is the relation A = { (1, 9), (2, 2), (3, 5) } also
a function?

2. Is the relation B = { (1, 6), (4, 5), (4, 7) } also

a function?
 THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND
FUNCTIONS
 NOTATION
If A and B are sets and F is a
function from A to B, then given any
element x in A, the unique element
in B that is related to x by F is
denoted f(x), which is read “f of x.”
EVALUATION OF A FUNCTION
 For any function f, the notation f(x), read as
“function of x” represents the value of y
when x is replaced by the number of
expression inside the parenthesis.

 To find the value of the function means to

evaluate a function.