MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE

AND SYMBOLS

Mathematics is written in a
symbolic Language that is
designed to express
Mathematical thoughts.
  
THE IMPORTANCE OF
MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE

“One very important element in

a student’s mathematical
success is his competence to
communicate mathematically”
- Michael Schiro (1997)
 ⮚ LANGUAGE
⮚ MATHEMATICS
⮚ THE NUMBER
DEFINITION OF SYSTEM
⮚ ALGEBRAIC
TERMS: EXPRESSION
⮚ VARIABLE
⮚ CO-EFFICIENT
 LANGUAGE
Language is defined as a systematic
means of communicating ideas or
feelings by the use of conventionalized
signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having
understood meanings.
 MATHEMATICS
Mathematics is the study of numbers,
number patterns and relationships,
counting, and measuring; it is also a way
to communicate and analyse ideas, and a
way of reasoning that is unique to
human beings
 MATHEMATICS
Mathematics is a system of
communication about objects like
numbers, variables, sets, operations,
functions and equations.
The aforementioned components, as
defined in the dictionary, are found in
mathematics, thus mathematics qualifies
as a language.
 MATHEMATICS
The familiar sign + for addition and the – sign for subtraction first
appeared in 1489 in a German arithmetic handbook. They may
have been borrowed from signs used by merchants to mark certain
packages. A + was marked on packages with too much of whatever
the package contained, while a – meant too little.
The = sign for equals was invented in 1557 by the English
mathematician Robert Recorded. Another Englishman, William
Ought red invented the x sign for multiplication in 1631. The ÷ sign
for division was actually invented earlier by the German
mathematician Johann Heinrich Rahn, but his book was not
published until 1659.
 THE NUMBER SYSTEM
Number System is a way to represent
numbers. We are used to using the base-10
number system, which is also called
decimal. Other common number systems
include base-16 (hexadecimal), base-8
(octal), and base-2 (binary).
THE NUMBER SYSTEM
 ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSION
Algebraic Expression can be a number, a
single variable or a combination of
numbers, letters and operation symbols. 
In algebra, we begin to see variables, or
letters that are used to represent numbers.
 VARIABLE
Variable is any letter or symbol that
represents certain value.
Examples: Letters of the different
alphabets a, b, c, x, y, z, M, ⍬, ꞵ
 CO-EFFICIENT
A number on its own is called a
Constant.
A Coefficient is a number used to
multiply a variable.
 EXAMPLE
Phrase/s Variable Expression

A number increased by 5 x x+5

A number decreased by 3 y y–3

12 more than a number z z + 12

6 less than a number a a–6

The sum of 7 and a number b 7+b

The product of 5 and a number c 5c or 5C

The quotient of 8 and a number d 8÷d

 
 THREE (3) CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE LANGUAGE OF MATHEMATICS

⮚precise (able to make very fine

distinctions)
⮚concise (able to say things briefly)
⮚powerful (able to express complex
thoughts with relative ease)
GEMDAS
 GEMDAS
GEMDAS is a mnemonic used to remember
the order of operations in Math problems
G- for Grouping symbols such as parenthesis, brackets, and braces;
E- for Exponents;
M- for Multiplication;
D- for Division;
A- for Addition; and
S- for Subtraction
 
MNEMONIC – is a device, such as a
formula or rhyme,
used as an aid in
remembering
 IMPORTANT NOTES
a. In a particular simplification, if you have both multiplication and
division, do the
⮚ operations one by one in the order from left to right.
b. Multiplication does not always come before division. We have to
do one by one in
⮚ the order from left to right.
c. In a particular simplification, If you have both addition and
subtraction, do the
⮚ operation one by one in the order from left to right.
 EXAMPLE
1.) 16 ÷ 4 x 3 2.) 18 – 3 + 6

Solution: 16 ÷ 4 x 3 18 – 3 + 6
4x3 15 + 6

Answer: = 12 = 21
 EXAMPLE
3.) 4.)

3 + 6 x (5 + 4) ÷ 3 – 7 36 – 2 (20 + 12 ÷ 4 x 3 – 2 x 2) + 10
3+6x9÷3–7 36 – 2 (20 + 3 x 3 – 4) + 10
3 + 54 ÷ 3 – 7 36 – 2(20 + 9 – 4) + 10
3 + 18 – 7 36 – 2(29 – 4) + 10
21 – 7 36 – 2(25) + 10
= 14 36 – 50 + 10
–14 + 10
= –4
LANGUAGE
OF SETS
 SETS
Sets are collections of well-defined
distinct objects, ideas, or numbers.
The groups are called sets for as
long as the objects in the group
share a characteristic and are
thus, well defined.
 ELEMENTS
Elements are objects
contained in a set. 
Examples: The collection of all the intelligent students in a class.
The set of students in DHVSU
A collection of “Yellow flowers”
The set of vowels in the English Alphabet
The set of letters in the word PAMPANGA
SET NOTATIONS AND
SYMBOLS
• Note:
✔ The pair of curly braces {  } denotes a set.

✔ The set is always represented by a capital letter

such as; A, B, C, … SET
✔ If the elements of the sets are alphabets then
these elements are written in small letters. NOTATIONS
and
✔ The elements of a set may be written in any
order.

✔ The elements of a set must not be repeated.

✔ The Greek letter Epsilon ‘∈’ will be read as ‘an

element of’, ‘belongs to’, etc.
SYMBOLS
✔ Therefore, x ∈ A will be read as “x is an element
of the set A”.

✔ The symbol ‘∉’ stands for “is not an element of”.

✔ Therefore, x ∉ A will read as “x is not an element

of the set A”.
 SET NOTATIONS AND SYMBOLS
In representation of sets, the following three methods are commonly used:
a. Descriptive form – verbal description of its elements
b. Rule or Set builder form – describing a set by indicating the properties that its members
must satisfy.
c. Roster or Tabular form – listing the elements of a set inside a pair of braces { }.

Descriptive form Rule or set builder form Roster or tabular form

The set of all vowels in { x : x is a vowel in the
{ a, e, i, o, u }
English alphabet English alphabet }
The set of all odd positive
{ x : x is an odd number and
integers less than or equal { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 }
o < x ≤ 15 }
to 15
The set of all positive
{ x : x is a cube number and
cube numbers less than { 1, 8, 27, 64 }
o < x < 100 }
100
 FINITE SET
Finite set are elements
are countable
A = {b}
B= {1,2,3,4,5}
F = {thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky}
G = {a, b, c, d, x, y, z}
NULL SET OR EMPTY SET
Null Set or Empty Set is a set
with no elements ∅ , { }
 
 SUBSET
Subset ( ⊆ ) - B is a subset of A if
and only if every element of B is in A.
 EXAMPLE
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {1, 2, 3} 𝐵 ⊆𝐴
C = {3,4} 𝐶 ⊆𝐴
D = {1} 𝐷⊆ 𝐴
 
A = {1, 2, 3, 4,5}
F = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} 𝐹 ⊆𝐴 a set is a subset of itself
G = {2, 3, 1, 5, 4} 𝐺⊆ 𝐴 order does not matter
H = {1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5} 𝐻⊆𝐴 repetition does not matter
I={} 𝐼 ⊆𝐴 the empty set is a subset of
every set, including the empty itself
 
PROPER SUBSET
Is a proper subset of a set A is a subset of A that is not equal to A.
In other words, if B is a proper subset of A, then all elements of B
are in A but A contains at least one element that is not in B.
Examples: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {1, 2, 3} 𝐵⊆ 𝐴 𝐵⊂ 𝐴
C = {3,4} 𝐶⊆ 𝐴 𝐶⊂ 𝐴
D = {1} 𝐷 ⊆𝐴 𝐷 ⊂𝐴
E = {1, 6} 𝐸⊈𝐴
 
OPERATIONS ON SETS
Operation Notation Meaning
    All elements which are
Union AՍB in both A and B
    All elements which are
Intersection AՈB in either A or B (or
both)
    All elements which are
Difference A–B in A but not in B
    All elements in the
Complement A’ universal set which
are not in A.
 EXAMPLE NA MALUPIT
1) Let: A = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} B = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8} C = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
A ᴜ B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8} A ᴜ B ᴜ C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

2) Let: A = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} B = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8} C = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

A ∩ B ∩ C = {0, 2, 4}∩{1, 3, 5, 7, 9} = { } or ø

3) Let: A = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} B = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8} C = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

A ∩ (B ᴜ C) = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}∩{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}

4) Let: C = {2, 5, 8, 12, 16} D = {2, 3, 5, 12, 15}

C – D = {8, 16} D – C = {3, 15}
5) Let:U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 } A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8} B = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
A’ = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} B’ = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}
 VENN DIAGRAM
A Venn diagram is a diagram that shows
all possible logical relations between a
finite collection of different sets.

Union Intersection Complement

 VENN DIAGRAM
To solve problems using Venn diagram, we must consider
coordinating conjunctions “or” and “and”. We use “or” for union
of sets while we use “and” for intersection of sets.

Basic formulas for Venn diagrams of two and three elements

a. n (A ᴜ B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A Ո B)

b. n (A ᴜ B Ս C) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) – n(A Ո B)– n(B Ո C) – n(A Ո

C)+ n(A Ո B Ո C)

Tip: Always start filling values in the Venn diagram from the innermost value.
 EXAMPLE
1. In a class, 15 like English, 20 like
Mathematics, and 10 like both English
and Mathematics. How many students
are there in all?
Solution: Let n(E) = no. of students
who like English
n(M) = no. of students who like
Mathematics
n(E ∩ M ) = no. of students who
like both English and Mathematics n(E
Ս M ) = 25 (total no. of students in a
class)
 EXAMPLE
2.) In a university, 200 students are randomly selected.
140 like milk tea, 120 like coffee, and 80 like both milk tea
and coffee.

a. How many students like only milk tea? 60

b. How many students like only coffee? 40

c. How many students like neither milk tea nor coffee? 20

d. How many students like only one of milk tea or coffee?

100

e. How many students like at least one of the drinks? 180

 EXAMPLE M S
25 9 18
There are a total of 145 students who are given a
chance to enroll in the Mathematics, Science and
English class. 7
3 11
The number of enrollees are listed below.
36
• 25 students enrolled in Mathematics class only.
• 18 students enrolled in Science class only.
E 36
• 36 students enrolled in English class only.
• 16 students enrolled in Math and Science class. Determine the following:
1. Number of students enrolled in Math. 44 students
• 18 students enrolled in Science and English class.
2. Number of students enrolled in Science. 45 students
• 10 students enrolled in English and Math class.
3. Number of students enrolled in English. 57 students
• 7 students enrolled all the three subjects
4. Number of students that did not enroll any of the
three subjects. 36 students
 EXAMPLE J M
39 12 15
A survey of 100 respondents and their preferred
fast-food restaurant/s (Jollibee, MCDO, and
Chowking). 5
4 6
Below are the results of the survey.
12
• 39 respondents preferred Jollibee only.
• 15 respondents preferred MCDO only.
C 7
• 12 respondents preferred Chowking only.
• 17 respondents preferred J & M. Determine the following:
1. No. of respondents preferred Jollibee.60 respondents
• 11 respondents preferred M & C.
2. No. of respondents preferred MCDO. 38 respondents
• 9 respondents preferred C & J.
27 respondents
3. No. of respondents preferred Chowking.
• 5 preferred all three fast-food restaurants.
4. No. of respondents that are not interested on the
three fast-food restaurants. 7 respondents