The Language of Mathematics
The Language of Mathematics
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: + - x /
- And symbols that "stand in" for values: x, y, ...
- And many special symbols: = < ≤, ...
Letter Conventions
Often (but not always) letters 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, ..., n |
positive integers (for counting) |
| End of the alphabet: |
... x, y, z |
variables (unknowns) |
Those are not rules, but they are often used that way.
Example:
y = ax + b
People would assume that a and b are fixed values,
And that x is the one that changes, which in turn makes y change.
Nouns, Verbs, Sentences
Even though we don't actually use the words "noun", "verb", or "pronoun" in Nathematics, it might help you understand Mathematics by thinking about its similarities to English:
Nouns
Nouns could be fixed things, such as numbers, or expressions with numbers
Verbs
And the verb could be the equals sign "=", or maybe an inequality like < or >
Pronouns
in English pronouns are things that stand in for nouns (it, he, you, etc). In Mathematics they could be variables like x or y:
Sentence
And they could be put together into a sentence like this:
3x + 7 = 22
(And we actually do use the word sentence in mathematics!)
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