Lesson MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS

2
The Nature of Mathematics

a set of
problem
solving
tools

an art a language

Mathematics
is . . .

a process
a study of
of
patterns
thinking

“Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe.”

- Galileo Galilei

The Language, Symbols, Syntax and Rules of Mathematics

The language of mathematics is the system used by mathematicians to communicate mathematical
ideas among themselves. This language consists of a substrate of some natural language (for example
English) using technical terms and grammatical conventions that are peculiar to mathematical discourse,
supplemented by a highly specialized symbolic notation for mathematical formulas.
Mathematics as a language has symbols to express a formula or to represent a constant. It has
syntax to make the expression well-formed to make the characters and symbols clear and valid that do
not violate the rules. Mathematics symbols can designate numbers (constants), variables, operations,
functions, brackets, punctuation, and grouping to help determine order of operations, and other aspects
of logical syntax. A mathematical concept is independent of the symbol chosen to represent it. In short,
convention dictates the meaning.
 The language of mathematics makes it easy to express the kinds of symbols, syntax and rules that
mathematicians like to do and characterized by the following:
a. precise (able to make very fine distinctions)
Example. The use of mathematical symbol is only done based on its meaning and purpose. Like
+ means add, − means subtract, × multiply and ÷ means divide.
b. concise (able to say things briefly)
Example. The long English sentence can be shortened using mathematical symbols. Eight plus
two equals ten which means 8 + 2 = 10.
c. powerful (able to express complex thoughts with relative ease)
Example. The application of critical thinking and problem solving skill requires the
comprehension, analysis and reasoning to obtain the correct solution.

Writing Mathematical Language as an Expression or a Sentence

In mathematics, an expression or mathematical expression is a finite combination of symbols that
is well-formed according to rules that depend on the context. It is a correct arrangement of mathematical
symbols used to represent a mathematical object of interest. An expression does not state a complete
thought; it does not make sense to ask if an expression is true or false.
The most common types are numbers, sets, and functions. Numbers have lots of different names:
for example, the expressions:
𝟏𝟎
𝟓 𝟐+𝟑 (𝟔 − 𝟐) + 𝟏 𝟏+𝟏+𝟏+𝟏+𝟏 ,
𝟐

all look different but are all just different names for the same number. This simple idea – that numbers
have lots of different names – is extremely important in mathematics. The basic syntax for entering
mathematical formulas or expressions in the system enables you to quickly enter expressions using 2 −
𝐷 notation. The most common mistake is to forget parentheses "( )".
For example, in the usual notation of arithmetic, the expression 𝟏 + 𝟐 × 𝟑 is well-formed, but the
following expression is not: 𝒙𝟒) 𝒙+,/𝒚.
On the other hand, a mathematical sentence is the analogue of an English sentence; it is a correct
arrangement of mathematical symbols that states a complete thought. Sentences have verbs. In the
mathematical sentence ′3 + 4 = 7′, the verb is ′ = ′.

The table below summarizes the analogy.

ENGLISH MATHEMATICS
name given to an NOUN (person, place, thing) EXPRESSION
object of interest: 1
Examples: Nash, Philippines, book Examples: 5 , 2 + 3 ,
2

a complete thought: SENTENCE SENTENCE

Example: Examples:
The capital of Philippines is Manila. 3 + 4 = 7
Carol loves Mathematics. 3 + 4 = 8

A sentence can be (always) true, (always) false, or sometimes true/sometimes false. For example,
the sentence ′1 + 2 = 3′ is true. The sentence ′1 + 2 = 4′ is false.

The sentence ′𝑥 = 2′ is sometimes true/sometimes false: it is true when 𝑥 is 2, and false otherwise.
The sentence ′𝑥 + 3 = 3 + 𝑥′ is (always) true, no matter what number is chosen for 𝑥.
Illustration:
If possible, classify the entries in the list below as:
an English noun, or a mathematical expression
an English sentence, or a mathematical sentence
1. cat _____________________________
2. 2 _____________________________
3. The word `cat' begins with the letter ` k '. _____________________________
4. 1 + 2 = 4 _____________________________
5. 5 − 3 _____________________________
6. 5 − 3 = 2 _____________________________
7. A cat is a mammal. _____________________________
8. 𝑥 _____________________________
9. 𝑥 = 1 _____________________________
10. 𝑥 − 1 = 0 _____________________________
11. 𝑡 + 3 _____________________________
12. 𝑡 + 3 = 3 + 𝑡 _____________________________
13. 𝑡 − 1 = 1 − 𝑡 _____________________________
14. 𝑥 + 0 = 𝑥 _____________________________
15. 1 • 𝑥 = 𝑥 _____________________________

Consider the entries that are sentences. Classify these sentences as: (always) true; (always) false;
sometimes true/sometimes false.

Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Three of the most important kinds of sentence in Mathematics are universal statements, conditional
statements, and existential statements:
Universal Statement – says that if one thing is true for all elements in a set.
Example: All positive numbers are greater than zero.
Conditional Statement – says that if one thing is true then some other thing also has to be true.
Example: If 378 is divisible by 18, then 378 is divisible by 6.
Existential Statement – says that there is at least one thing for which the property is true, given a property
that may or may not be true.
Example: There is a prime number that is even.
The combinations of the above statements can be expressed in a variety of ways.
Universal Conditional Statement – contain some variation of the words “for all” and conditional statements
contain versions of the words “if-then”. It is a statement that is both universal and conditional.
Example: For all animals 𝑎, if a is a dog, then 𝑎 is mammal.
The previous statement can be rewritten in a way that makes its conditional nature explicit but its universal
nature implicit:
If a is a dog, then 𝑎 is mammal.
The statement can also be expressed so as to make its nature explicit and its conditional nature implicit.
For all dogs 𝑎, 𝑎 is mammal.
Rewriting a Universal Conditional Statement
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:
For all real numbers 𝑥 , if 𝑥 is nonzero, then 𝑥 2 is positive.
a) If a real number is nonzero, then its square ______________________.
b) For all nonzero real number 𝑥 , ____________________________.
c) If 𝑥 __________________, then _____________________.
d) The square of any nonzero real number is _______________.
e) All nonzero numbers have __________________________.
Universal Existential Statement – 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 that
existence of something.
Example: Every real number has an additive inverse.
Rewriting a 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 lot 𝐿 such that _________________________.

Existential Universal Statement – 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.
Example: There is a positive integer that is less than or equal to every positive integer.
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 ____________________.
b) There is a person 𝑝 in my class such that 𝑝 is _________________________________________.
c) There is a person 𝑝 in my class with the property that for every person 𝑞 in my class, 𝑝 is
_______________________________________________________________________________.

Mathematical Convention
A mathematical convention is a fact, name, notation, or usage which is generally agreed upon by
mathematicians. For instance, the fact that one evaluates multiplication before addition in the expression
(2 + 3) × 4 is merely conventional. There is nothing inherently significant about the order of operations.
Mathematicians abide by conventions in order to allow other mathematicians to understand what they
write without constantly having to redefine basic terms.
The following symbols are commonly used in the order of operations:
Symbol Meaning Example
+ Add 3 + 7 = 10
− Subtract 5−2=3
× Multiply 4 × 3 = 12
÷ Divide 20 ÷ 5 = 4
/ Divide 20/5 = 4
𝜋 pi 𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 2
∞ infinity ∞ is endless
= Equals 1+1=2
≈ approximately equal to 𝜋 ≈ 3.14
≠ not equal to 𝜋≠2
<≤ less than, less than or equal to 2<3
 >≥ greater than, greater than or equal to 5>1
√ square root (“radical”) √4 = 2
° degrees 20°
∴ Therefore 𝑎=𝑏∴𝑏=𝑎

Translating English Words into Algebraic Expressions

A variable is a symbol, commonly a single letter, that represents a number. The advantage of using
a variable is that allows you to give a temporary name to what you are seeking so that you can perform
concrete computations with it to help discover its possible values.
The table below lists some key words and phrases that are used to describe common mathematical
operations. To write algebraic expressions and equations, assign a variable to represent the unknown
number. In the table below, the letter “x” is used to represent the unknown. In translation problems, the
words sum, total, difference, product and quotient imply at least two parts – use parentheses when a sum
or difference is multiplied. For example, the phrase "the sum of three times a number and five" translates
to "3x + 5," while the phrase "three times the sum of a number and five" translates to "3(x + 5)."
 Perform Operations on Mathematical Expressions Correctly
In simplifying mathematical expressions, the following order of operations is one critical point to
observe. Order of operations is the hierarchy of mathematical operations. It is the set of rules that
determines which operations should be done before or after or after others. Before, we used to have the
MDAS, that stands for Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction. It was changed to use
PEMDAS which means Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division and Addition and
Subtraction. But now, most scientific calculators follow BODMAS, that is Brackets, Order, Division and
Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction.

The order of operations or BODMAS/PEMDAS is merely a set of rules that prioritize the sequence of
operations starting from the most important to the least important.
Step 1: Do as much as you can to simplify everything inside the parentheses first.
Step 2: Simplify every exponential number in the numerical expression.
Step 3: Multiply and divide whichever comes first, from left to right.
Step 4: Add and subtract whichever comes first, from left to right.

Illustration:
1
1. Evaluate: (11 − 5) × 2 − 3 + 1. 2. Evaluate: 10 × 4 − 2 × (42 ÷ 4) ÷ 2 ÷ 2 + 9.

Number Systems

Decimal System

The decimal number system also called denary or base IO, has obviously IO as its base. It is the
number system most widely used by modern civilization.
 A decimal number is more commonly used to refer to numbers that have a fractional part with a
decimal separator.
Illustration:
Whole Fractional part

1, 2 3 4 . 5 6 7 8 9

9 X 10-5

8 X 10 -3

7 X 10-3

6 X 10-2

5 X 10 -1

4 X 100

3 X 101

2 X 102

1 X 103

A decimal fraction is a fraction the denominator of which is a power of ten whose only prime factors
are 2 and/or 5.

Binary Number

In mathematics and digital electronics, a binary number is a number expressed in the binary numeral
system or base 2 which represent numeric values using 0 and 1.

Thus, counting in binary, it can be:

Base 10 Base 10
1 1 1000 8
10 2 1001 9
11 3 1010 10
100 4 1011 11
101 5 1100 12
110 6 1101 13
111 7 1110 14
1111 15

To convert from decimal to binary system, continuous division by 2 is done and remainders 0 and 1 are
used.
Illustrations:
1. 10 2. 37 3. 79