Chapter 3

Mathematical Language and

Symbols
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the language, symbols and conventions of
mathematics.
• Explain the nature of mathematics as a language.
• Perform operations on mathematical expressions correctly.
• Acknowledge that mathematics is a useful language.
• Read and write mathematics texts and communicate ideas with
precision and conciseness
Mathematics
▪ Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
(Henri Poincare)

▪ Mathematics is like going to the gym for the brain. It sharpens our
minds. (Danica McKellar)

▪ It is a foreign language to many.

Mathematics should

▪ … be precise and unambiguous which means that the definition

should tell exactly what you need to do to determine whether any
object does or does not fit the definition.

▪ Example: List the factors of 25.

 Importance of Mathematical Language

1. It is a major contributor to overall comprehension.

2. It is vital for the development of mathematics proficiency.
3. It enables both the teacher and the students to
communicate mathematical knowledge with precision.
 English Mathematics
name given to Noun ( person, Expression
an object of place, things) 3, 2+x, 6y
interest Alma, Batangas,
box
a complete Sentence Sentence
thought Martha likes Paris a+b=c
3+5=8
Five and three are
prime numbers.
Translate each of the following English phrases into a
mathematical expression.
1. The sum of a and b
2. The product of x and y
3. The difference of x and y
4. The sum of x and the difference of y and z
5. The sum of x and the sum of y and z
6. The product of x and the sum of y and z
7. The product of x and the difference of y and z
8. The difference of the product of x and y, and z
9. The product of the sum of x and y and the difference of x and y
10. x more than y
11. x less than y
▪ In each sentence (English or mathematical), circle the verb.
1. Peter is a boy.
2. 4 is an even number.
3. 7 < 12.
4.128 is a composite number
5. 3 and 5 are odd numbers
6. The product of 3 and 4 is 12
7. is a fraction
8. 5 + 7 = 12.
9. When 8 is divided by three, the remainder is 2.
10. 15 is greater than 12.
Kinds of Mathematical Statements

1.Universal Statement
2.Conditional Statement
3.Existential Statement
A universal statement says that a certain property
is true for all elements in a set.

Example:
All positive numbers are greater than zero.
All integers are rational numbers.
A conditional statement says that if one thing is
true then some other thing also has to be true.

Example:
If 100 is divisible by 50, then 100 is divisible by 10.
If it rains today , then it is a humid day.
Given a property that may or may not be true, an
existential statement says that there is at least one
thing for which the property is true.
Example:
There is a prime number that is even.
Definition of Terms:

Sets
Elements
Variables
Venn Diagram
Let us all watch this video about the Sets by Don’t Memorise
and understand what sets and basics of sets.
(Click to play the video) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3-A0O42Lyo
Sets
▪Any group or collection of objects is called a set.

▪The objects that belong in a set are the elements, or members, of

the set.

Example, the set consisting of the four seasons has spring, summer,
fall, and winter as its elements.

▪Sets are usually denoted by capital letters while the elements are
denoted by small letters.
Sets

The following table gives two examples of sets, where each

set is designated by a word description and also by using
the roster method.

Word description (Rule method) Roster method

The set of colleges in DLSU-D. {CSCS, CLAC, CBA,
CCJE,CTHM,COeD,CEAT}
The set of vowels in the English {a,e,i,o,u}
alphabet.
Sets
▪The following sets of numbers are used
extensively in many areas of mathematics.
Definitions Regarding Sets

▪The statement “4 is an element of the set of natural

numbers” can be written using mathematical notation
as 4  N. The symbol  is read “is an element of.”

▪To state that “–3 is not an element of the set of natural

numbers,” we use the “is not an element of ” symbol, ,
and write –3  N.
Variable
• a symbol used to represent an arbitrary element in a given
set
• a placeholder when you want to talk about something but
either
a) you imagine that it has one or more values but you
don’t know what they are
b) you want whatever you say about it to be equally true
for all elements in a given set and you do not want to
be restricted to consider only a particular value.
Example
Is there a number x with the property that
2x+3=x2 ?

No matter what number n might be chosen, if n

is greater than 2, then n2 is greater than 4.
Definitions Regarding Sets

▪The empty set, or null set, is the set that contains no

elements. The symbol  or { } is used to represent the empty
set. As an example of the empty set, consider the set of
natural numbers that are negative integers.

▪Another method of representing a set is set-builder notation.

Set-builder notation is especially useful when describing
infinite sets.
Definitions Regarding Sets
▪For instance, in set-builder notation, the set of natural numbers greater
than 7 is written as follows:
Example 5 – Use Set-Builder Notation to
Represent a Set
Use set-builder notation to write the following sets.

a. The set of integers greater than –3

b. The set of whole numbers less than 1000
 Examples:
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:

1. For all objects J, if J is a square then J has four sides.

a. All squares_______.
b. Every square ________.
c. If an object is a square, then it ____________.
d. If J ______, then J __________.
e. For all squares J, ______________.

No. 8 pg. 29
Mathematics in the Modern World
 Examples:
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:

2. Every nonzero real number has a reciprocal.

a. All nonzero real numbers_______.
b. For all nonzero real numbers r, there is________for r.
c. For all nonzero real numbers r, there is a real number s such
that ____________.

No. 10 pg. 29
Mathematics in the Modern World
 Examples:
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:

3. There is a real number whose product with every number leaves the
number unchanged.
a. Some_______has the property that its___.
b. There is a real number r such that the product of r________.
c. There is a real numbers r with the property that for every
real number s, ____________.

No. 12 pg. 29
Mathematics in the Modern World
Translate each of the following phrases into a mathematical
expression/sentences. Use few variables as possible:

1. The sum of a number and 10

2. The product of two numbers
3. Twice a number
4. A number, plus 6
5. The square of a number
6. The square of the sum of 5 and a number
7. There are twice as many boys as there are girls.
8. There are 10 more cars than jeeps.
9. A man’s age 10 years ago
10. The area of a rectangle whose length is 7 more than the width.
Let us all watch this video about the Venn Diagram by Don’t
Memorise and learn what is Venn Diagram and how to draw it.
(Click to play the video) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoS1y8xridY
Venn Diagrams
- a diagram representing mathematical or logical sets pictorially as
circles or closed curves within an enclosing rectangle, common
elements of the sets being represented by the areas of overlap
among the circles.
- developed by the logician John Venn (1834 – 1923).

The rectangle represents the universal set, A

U, while the portion bounded by the circle U

represents set A.
Complement of a Set
The colored region inside U and outside the circle is labeled A'
(read “A prime”). This set, called the complement of A,
contains all elements that are contained in U but not in A.

A
A

U
Representing Two Sets in a Venn Diagram

Disjoint Sets:
Two sets that have no
elements in common.

Proper Subsets:
All elements of set
A are elements of
set B.
Let us all watch this video about the Union and Intersection of
Venn Diagrams by Don’t Memorise and understand what is the
Venn Diagram of union and intersection of two sets.
(Click to play the video) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEsBbAGqkZw