MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS Language, Symbols and Conventions

OUTLINE
 The Language of Mathematics
 Predicates and Quantifiers
 Compound Statements
 Kinds of Mathematical Statements
 Quick Reference Guide to Symbols
THE LANGUAGE OF MATHEMATICS
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE OF
MATHEMATICS
 Precise
 Able to make fine distinctions

 Concise
 Able to say things briefly

 Powerful
 Able to express complex thoughts with ease
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.)
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, =, <, ≤, ...
LETTER CONVENTIONS
 Letters often have special uses:
Examples What they usually mean
Start of the alphabet: a, b, c, ... constants (fixed values)
From i to n: i, j, k, l, m, n positive integers (for counting)
End of the alphabet: ... x, y, z variables (unknowns)
EXAMPLE
y = ax + b
 People will assume that a and b are fixed values,
 And that x is the one that changes, which in turn makes y change.
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
 Example:
 A = {1, 2, 3}
 Using an uppercase "A" makes it easy to tell it is a set.
EXPRESSION VS SENTENCES
Expression
 The mathematical analog of an
English Noun
 A correct arrangement of
mathematical symbols used to
represent a mathematical object of
interest. It does NOT state a
complete thought; it does NOT
make sense to ask if an expression
is true or false.
 Most common expression types:
numbers, sets, functions
Sentence
 The mathematical analog of an
English Sentence
 A correct arrangement of
mathematical symbols that states a
complete thought
 It makes sense to ask if a sentence is
true, false, sometimes
true/sometimes false.
NOUNS, VERBS, SENTENCES
 Nouns could be fixed things, such as numbers, or expressions with numbers:

 The Verb could be the equals sign "=", or an inequality like < or >
 Pronouns (things like it, he, you, etc.) could be variables like x or y:

 An Adjective could be a subscript like the "n" in xn

 And they could be put together into a Sentence like this:
3x + 7 = 22
PREDICATES AND QUANTIFIERS
PREDICATE
 Consider the given statement:
Mary is studying for a bachelor's degree at STMTCC.
 x is studying for a bachelor's degree at STMTCC, or P(x).
 x is studying for a bachelor's degree at y, or R(x, y)
 a sentence containing a specific number of variables, which becomes a statement
when specific values are substituted in place of the predicate variables.
 The values are taken from the domain of the predicate variables: the domain of x
is the set of all students, and the domain of y is the set of all colleges. The values
in these sets can be represented either in words or by symbols.
QUANTIFIERS: Ɐ and ⱻ
 refer to given quantities, such as "some" or "all", indicating the
number of elements for which a predicate is true.
 Ɐ is translated as "for all", "given any", "for each", or "for
every", and is known as the universal quantifier.
 ∃ is the existential quantifier, and means variously "for some",
"there exists", "there is a", or "for at least one".
COMPOUND STATEMENTS
STATEMENT
 a definite or clear expression of something in
speech or writing.
 a universal declarative sentence which is either
true or false.
PROPERTIES OF A STATEMENT
 Sentence - It must be a grammatically legal sentence.
 Declarative - It must declare something. A question is not a
statement.
 Universal - It must have some inherent and verifiable meaning
to it.
 Truth Value - It must be analyzed to have either true or false
value. It cannot assume both or neither of the value concurrently.
 Integrate e 2x with respect to x.
 Sentence? Yes.
 Declarative? Yes. It declares an action to be taken.
 Universal? Yes. It's meaning can be perfectly understood and deciphered.
 Truth Value? No. It is an order. It's truth value cannot be determined.

Not a statement.
 Integrating e2x with respect to x, we get (e2x/2) + 2.
 Sentence? Yes.
 Declarative? Yes.
 Universal? Yes.
 Truth Value? Yes. It has a truth value that can be found out. (Truth value is true).

It is a statement with a truth value of true.

COMPOUND STATEMENT
 A compound statement consists of simpler statements, which are
linked together by the use of the linking words - and, or, not,
and if-else.
 For example,
 15 is a multiple of 3 and 5.
 21 is a multiple of 3 or 6.
 45 is not a multiple of 9.
 If 20 is a divisor of 100, then 5 is a divisor of 100.
LINKING WORDS
 And
 Also known as conjunction.
 The truth value of the compound statement is true if and only if both of the consisting statements are true.
 It is represented by the symbol Λ

 Or
 Also known as disjunction.
 The truth value of the compound statement is true if and only if at least either one of the consisting simple statements is true.
 It is represented by the symbol V.

 Not
 Also known as negation.
 It inverses the truth value of the statement that consists the compound statement.
 It is represented by the symbol ~ (tilde).

 If-then
 Also known as implication.
 If the preceding statement is true, then it implies that the following statement must also be true.
 It is represented by the symbol →.
EXAMPLES
 15 is a multiple of 3 and 5.
 15 is a multiple of 3 – (True).
 15 is a multiple of 5 – (True).
 21 is a multiple of 3 or 6.
 21 is a multiple of 3. – (True)
 21 is a multiple of 6. – (False)
 45 is not a multiple of 9.
 45 is a multiple of 9. – (True)
KINDS OF MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS
EXISTENTIAL STATEMENTS
 which says that something exists, or is true for certain elements
 contain words like "there exists," "there is at least one," or "for some“
 Examples:
 There exists a natural number n, such that n x n = 36
∃ n ∈ ℕ, ∋ n x n = 36
 There exists an integer z, such that z2=25
∃ z ∈ ℤ, ∋ z2 = 25
 There is at least one number n, belonging to a set of Natural numbers, such that a x n
=a
∃ n ∈ ℕ, ∋ a x n = a
UNIVERSAL STATEMENTS
 which says that a concept is true for a set of elements
 often finds words like "given any" or "for all“
 Examples:
 For all values of the element e of the set of even numbers, e
mod 2 = 0;
∀ e ∈ ℕeven, e mod 2 = 0
 Given an odd number o, o mod 2 = 1
∀ o ∈ ℕodd, o mod 2 = 1
EXAMPLES OF UNIVERSAL AND
EXISTENTIAL QUANTIFIERS
Let P = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
Let Q = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11}
Let x and y be predicate variables.
Rewrite the following statements into informal English, and
determine their truth or falsity:
1. Ɐ x ∈ P, x is even.
2. ∃ x ∈ P | x * 2 < 10
SOLUTION
Let P = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
Let Q = (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11)
1. Ɐ x ∈ P, x is even.
"For all x in P, x is even."
True. Every element in set P is even.
2. ∃ x ∈ P | x * 2 < 10
"There exist some x in P such that x times 2 is less than 10."
True. The elements 2 and 4 make this statement true, since 2 * 2 = 4, 2 * 4
= 8, and both 4 and 8 are less than 10.
UNIVERSAL CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS
 is simply a universal statement with a condition, and is symbolically
represented as:

Ɐ x, if P(x), then Q(x)

or
Ɐ x, P(x)  Q(x)
EXAMPLES OF UNIVERSAL CONDITIONAL
STATEMENTS
Universal conditional statements in informal English are quite often
implied rather than specific. Rewrite the following statements
formally.
1. Any student with a GPA of better than 3.5 must study a lot.
Ɐ students x, if x's GPA is better than 3.5, x studies a lot.
2. If a polygon has 3 sides, it must be a triangle.
Ɐ polygons p, if p has 3 sides, p is a triangle.
QUICK REFERENCE OF THE SYMBOLS
 ∃ - there exists
 ∈ - belongs to
 ∋ or |- such that
 ℕ - The set of natural numbers 1 to infinity
 ℤ - The set of integers { -infinity .... -2, -1, 0, 1, 2,
.... infinity}
 ∀ - For all values of