Mathematics in the Modern World

Chapter 2

Mathematical Language and

Symbols
 Chapter 2: MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND
SYMBOL
Introduction

Mathematics has its own language, much of which we are already familiar with.
For example, the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are part of our everyday lives. Whether
we refer to 0 as ‘zero’, ‘nothing’, or ‘O’ as in a telephone number, we understand its
meaning. There are many symbols in mathematics and most are used as a precise form
of shorthand. We need to be confident when using these symbols, and to gain that
confidence we need to understand their meaning. To understand their meaning there are
two things to help us—context - this is the context in which we are working, or the
particular topics being studied, and convention - where mathematicians and scientists
have decided that particular symbols will have particular meaning.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, the student is expected to:

 Define and discuss the language of mathematics and its characteristics;
 Differentiate expressions and sentences;
 Identify the two types of mathematical sentences; and
 Translate mathematical sentences to english sentences (or vice versa)
Duration

Topic 1: The Language of Mathematics = 1 hour

Topic 2: Expressions vs Sentences = 1 hour
Topic 3: Translating Mathematical Sentences to = 1 hour
English Sentences (or vice versa)

Lesson Proper

2.1 The Language of Mathematics

Can you imagine how would you be able to communicate with a seatmate in the
bus who speaks an entirely different language from yours? You may be able to tell him
or her to watch over your bag as you get off the bus for a while to buy something
through certain nonverbal gestures. That can be done with sign language. Language
facilitates communication and meaning-making. It allows people to express themselves
and maintain their identity. Likewise, language bridges the gap among people from
various cultural origins without prejudice to their background and upbringing. If you
plan to marry someone with different language and culture, you need to know his or
her language and culture to be able to live with him or her as a spouse.

Have you seen the characters of Mandarin language? The Mandarin language
has different characters for sun, moon, stars, things like house, chair, table, furniture,
trees, plants, flowers, and relationships like grandfather, grandmother, father, mother,
sister, brother etc. These unfamiliar characters in the written Mandarin language may
make learning Mandarin more difficult than the Greek language even if Greek letters
are different from the English alphabet. Mathematics is also a language. It has its own
symbol system; the same way the English or Greek languages have their own alphabet.

Characteristics of Mathematical Language

Mathematical language is precise which means it is able to make very fine
distinctions or definitions among a set of mathematical symbols. It is concise because
a mathematician can express otherwise long expositions or sentences briefly using the
language of mathematics. The mathematical language is powerful, that is, one can
express complex thoughts with relative case. For example, consider the sentence “The
sum of any two real numbers is also a real number.” In mathematical notation, this
declarative sentence can be written as:

∀𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℝ, 𝑎 + 𝑏 ∈ ℝ
Mathematics is a symbolic language. Some of the symbols you may encounter as you
read this book are the following:

Σ The sum of ⇒ If …, then

∃ There exists ⟺ If and only if
∀ For all/for any ℝ Set of real numbers
∈ Element of/member of ℕ Set of natural numbers
∞ infinity ℤ Set of integers
⊆ Subset of ℚ Set of rational numbers

Mathematical language can describe a subset of the real world using only the
symbols above. Problems in physics like freely falling bodies, speed, and acceleration;
quantities like the chemical content of vegetables; the use of mathematical modeling in
biological disease modelling; and the formulas employed in the social sciences can all
be expressing using mathematical sentences or formulas. Mathematics describes
abstract structures as well. There are areas of Pure Mathematics which deal with
abstract algebra, linear algebra, topology, real analysis, and complex analysis.

Mathematics, therefore, is a language of Sciences, business, economics, music,

architecture, arts, and even politics. There is an intimate connection between the
language of Mathematics and the English language. The left brain hemisphere which is
responsible for controlling language is also the same part of the brain in charge of tasks
involving Mathematics. It is the left brain hemisphere that coordinates logical and
analytical thinking while the right brain hemisphere is responsible for creative thinking.

Chinese, Greek, and English languages are the same because they communicate
ideas through symbols that feed the mind with information. More often however, a
Chinese word or symbol may mean differently in the Greek or English language
resulting in confusion. Mathematics tries to avoid this difficulty by adopting a
universally understood symbolic system for its language. Thus, the language of
Mathematics can be considered a common language of the world. Any student learning
Mathematics in all parts of the globe should be able to understand Mathematics even if
he or she does not understand English or Filipino.
2.2 Expressions vs. Sentences

A sentence must contain a complete thought. In the English language, an

ordinary sentence must contain a subject and a predicate. The subject contains a noun
or a whole clause. “Manila” for example is a proper noun but is not in itself a sentence
because it does not state a complete thought. Similarly, a mathematical sentence must
state a complete thought. An expression is a name given to a mathematical expression
but not a mathematical sentence.

Types of Mathematical Sentences

A mathematical sentence is one in which a fact or complete idea expressed.
Because a mathematical sentence states a fact, many of them can be judged to be “true”
or “false”. Questions and phrases are not mathematical sentences since they cannot be
judged to be true or false.
Examples:
a. “An isosceles triangle has two congruent sides.” is a true mathematical sentence.
b. “10 + 4 = 15” is a false mathematical sentence.
c. “Did you get that one right?” is NOT a mathematical sentence – it is a question.
d. “All triangles” is NOT a mathematical sentence – it is a phrase.
There are two types of mathematical sentences:
 Open Sentence
An open sentence is a sentence which contains a variable. It can be either true
or false depending on what values are used.
Examples:
1. A triangle has n sides.
2. z is a positive number.
3. 3y = 4x + 2
4. a + b = c + d
 Closed Sentence
A closed sentence is a sentence which can be judged to be always true or always
false and has no variables.
Examples:
1. A square has four corners.
2. 6 is less than 5.
3. −3 is a negative number.
4. 3 + 5 = 8
5. 9 is an even number.

2.3 Translating Mathematical Sentences to English Sentences (or vice

versa)
There is no single strategy for translating Mathematical sentences into English
sentences (or vice versa). As long as you can remember the basics, you should be able
to tackle the more challenging ones. Just make sure that you can justify how you come
up with your own translation, and more importantly that it makes sense to you.
To build your skills in writing Mathematical sentences to English sentences (or
vice versa), we will go over different ways of how each operation may show up as a
word or phrase in the problem. The four arithmetic operations involved are addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. You can use also the different mathematical
symbols as stated in a sentence.

Example 1: Write the Mathematical sentences into English sentences

a. ∀𝑥 ∈ ℝ, 𝑥 2 ≥ 0
b. ∀𝑥, 𝑦 ∈ ℝ, (𝑥 + 𝑦)2 = 𝑥 2 + 2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦 2
c. ∃𝑚, 𝑛 ∈ ℤ, 𝑚 − 𝑛 ≤ 𝑚 + 𝑛
d. ∀𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ ℚ, 𝑎𝑏 = 0 ⇒ 𝑎 = 0 ∨ 𝑏 = 0
Solution:
a. For any real number, its square is greater than or equal to zero.
b. For any real numbers x and y, the square of their sum is equal to the sum of their
squares plus twice their product.
c. There exist integers m and n such that m minus n is less than or equal to m plus
n.
d. For any rational numbers a and b, if their product is zero, then either a or b
equals zero.

Example 2: Write the English sentences into Mathematical sentences.

a. Ten is the square root of one hundred.
b. Ten is greater than nine.
c. Ten is an even number.
 d. Ten is a multiple of 5.
Solution:
a. √100 = 10
b. 10 > 9
c. 10 ∈ {2𝑛, 𝑛 ∈ ℕ}
d. 10 ∈ {5𝑛, 𝑛 ∈ ℕ}
References/Additional Resources/Readings

Aufmann, R. et al. (2018). Mathematical Excursions 4th Edition.

www.cenage.com/students/MINDTAP

Baltazar, E. C. et al. (2013). Mathematics in the Modern World. Quezon City: C&E
Publishing, Inc.

Nocon, R.C. & Nocon, E.G. (2018). Essential Mathematics for the Modern World. Quezon
City: C&E Publishing, Inc.

Quintos, R.T. et al. (2018). Mathematics in the Modern World. St. Andrew Publishing
House

Simmons, J. R. (n.d.). Fibonacci Numbers and Nature. Retrieved March 9, 2018 from
http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680ProjectFibonacci.html
 Activity Sheet 5

Name: __________________________________________ Date: ________________

Year & Section: ___________________________________ Score: _______________

Direction: Write an essay with at least 150 words about the Language of Mathematics
using the following guided questions: (at least 150 words)

 Is language of Mathematics important to you? Why or why not?

 When do you use the language of Mathematics?
 Can you live without it? Why or why not?

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Scoring Rubric: Your essay will be graded based on this rubric. Consequently, use
this rubric as a guide when doing your work and check it again before you submit it.
Score Description
 The essay is well-related to the topic.
 The main ideas are clear and are well supported by detailed and
20
accurate information.
 It consists at least 150 words.
 The essay is related to the topic.
 The main ideas are clear but are not well supported by detailed
15
information.
 It consists at least 150 words.
 The essay is somehow related to the topic.
10  The main ideas are somewhat clear.
 It consists less than 150 words.
 The essay is not much related to the topic.
5  The main ideas are not clear.
 It consists less than 150 words.
0  No essay presented.
 Activity Sheet 6

Name: __________________________________________ Date: ________________

Year & Section: ___________________________________ Score: _______________

Direction: Tell whether if each of the following sentences is an open sentence or a

closed sentence. Write OS if a sentence is open and CS if it is closed. If CS, determine
if it is true or false. If OS, identify the expression that will make the sentence always
true.
_________________________ 1. Nine is an even number.
_________________________ 2. 4x – 2 = 5
_________________________ 3. Zero is an even number.
_________________________ 4. 2 + 5 = 2x
_________________________ 5. 1⁄2 > 2⁄3
_________________________ 6. n is a composite number.
_________________________ 7. 2n < 5
_________________________ 8. – 0.5 is an integer.
_________________________ 9. 𝜋 is a variable.
_________________________ 10. 0 is not an integer.
Scoring Rubric: Your answer will be scored each item based on this rubric.
Consequently, use this rubric as a guide when doing your work and check it again
before you submit it.
Score Description
 The answer is correct.
2
 Th follow-up answer is also correct.
 The answer is correct.
1
 The follow-up answer is incorrect or no answer at all.
 The answer is incorrect even if the follow-up answer is correct.
0
 No answer at all.
 Activity Sheet 7

Name: __________________________________________ Date: ________________

Year & Section: ___________________________________ Score: _______________

A. Direction: Translate each of the following English sentences into Mathematical

sentences.
1. The square of the difference of x and y is not more than 10.
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2. The square of a number is positive.

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3. Four is an even number.

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4. One-fourth is a rational number.

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5. Six is the principal square root of 36.

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B. Direction: Translate each of the following Mathematical sentences into English

sentences.
1. ∀𝑥, 𝑦 ∈ ℝ, ∃𝑦 ∈ ℝ, 𝑥 + 𝑦 = 10
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2. ∀𝑥 ∈ ℤ+ , ∃𝑦 ∈ ℝ, 𝑦 2 = 𝑥
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3. 𝑥 + 12 = 8
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4. 2(𝑥 − 3) = 12
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5. 2𝑥 − 6 = 45
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Scoring Rubric (A): Your answer will be scored each item based on this rubric.
Consequently, use this rubric as a guide when doing your work and check it again
before you submit it.
Score Description
2  Excellent use of mathematical language and symbols.
 Small mistakes may exist in using mathematical language and
1
symbols.
 Poor or incorrect use of math language and symbols.
0
 No answer at all.

Scoring Rubric (B): Your answer will be scored each item based on this rubric.
Consequently, use this rubric as a guide when doing your work and check it again
before you submit it.
Score Description
 Excellent for translating Mathematical Sentence to English
2
Sentence.
 Small mistakes may exist in translating Mathematical
1
Sentence to English Sentence.
 Poor or incorrect translating Mathematical Sentence to English
0 Sentence.
 No answer at all.
Learner’s Feedback Form

Name of Student: ___________________________________________________

Program : ___________________________________________________
Year Level : ______________________Section: ______________________
Faculty : ___________________________________________________
Schedule : ___________________________________________________

Learning Module: ________ Number: _________ Title : ______________________

How do you feel about the topic or concept presented?

□ I completely get it. □ I’m struggling.
□ I’ve almost got it. □ I’m lost.

In what particular portion of this learning packet, you feel that you are struggling or
lost?
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Did you raise your concern to you instructor? □ Yes □ No

If Yes, what did he/she do to help you?

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If No, state your reason?

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To further improve this learning packet, what part do you think should be enhanced?
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How do you want it to be enhanced?

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NOTE: This is an essential part of course module. This must be submitted to the subject
teacher (within the 1st week of the class).