Chapter 1

Basic Operations

This chapter presents mathematical symbols related to elementary and advanced calculations.

1.1 Elementary Calculations

In elementary calculations we often use the following symbols. In this section you can learn how to read
the symbols in English.

The equals sign

=

x=3 ; x≠3 x equals three / x is equal to three ; x (is) not equal to three

x≡y x is equivalent to (or identical with) y

x>y ; x≥y x is greater than y ; x is greater than or equal to y

x<y ; x≤y x is less than y ; x is less than or equal to y

a is greater than x and less than y / a is between x and y / x is less than a and less
x<a<y
than y

a is greater than or equal to x and less than or equal to y / a is between x and y -

x≤a≤y
pause- bounds included / x is less than or equal to a and less than or equal to y

much less than ; much greater than ; very much less than ; very much greater than
<< ; >> ; <<< ; >>>
(The last two are not frequently used, but they are in the set of Unicode characters).

a+b=s (addition) a and b are the addends, s is the sum, a and b are also the items of the addition.

a plus b is (/ equals / is equal to) s

a+b=s a and b is (/ equals / is equal to) s
s is the sum of a and b

a-b=d a is the minuend, b is the subtrahend, d is the remainder or the difference

1
(subtraction or
difference)

a minus b is (/ equals / is equal to) d

a-b=d a take away b is (/ equals / is equal to) d
d is the difference between a and b

a±b a plus or minus b

a×b=p, or a·b=p,
or simply ab=p a and b are the factors or the multipliers, p is the product
(multiplication)

a times b is (/ equals / is equal to) p

a multiplied by b is (/ equals / is equal to) p
a×b=p, or a·b=p,
or simply ab=p a by b is (/ equals / is equal to) p
a b is (/ equals / is equal to) p
p is the product of a and b

a : b = q, or a / b =
a is the dividend, b is the divisor, q is the quotient or the ratio
q (division)

a divided by b is (/ equals / is equal to) q

a:b=q, or a/b=q
q is the quotient of the division of a by b

verbs concerning
to sum, to subtract / to deduct, to multiply, to divide
operations

a is the numerator, b is the denominator (the outcome is always called the quotient,
(fraction) as in the division)

a fraction can be said a divided by b (as a normal division ), or a over b. Cardinal

numbers for the numerator and ordinal numbers for the denominator are also used

(as in Italian): is a third, is two thirds. Special cases are (a/one half),

(a/one quarter), (three halves), (three quarters), and similar. The special

2
 notation sometimes used for improper fractions, as , is said three and a half.

2.2 Advanced Calculations

The following symbols are usually used in advanced calculations. Learn how to read them.

|x| or abs(x) The absolute value of x

ab a is the base, b is the index or the exponent

x2 x squared / x (raised) to the power two

x3 x cubed / x (raised) to the power three

x4 x to the fourth / x (raised) to the power four

xn x to the nth / x (raised) to the power n

x-n x to the minus n / x (raised) to the power minus n

root x / square root x / square root of x

cube root x / cube root of x

fourth root x / fourth root of x

nth root x / nth root of x

nth root -pause- x cubed or nth root -pause- of x cubed

x hat

3
 x bar

x tilde

x dot

x dot dot / x double dot

n! n factorial / factorial n

n choose p

xi x i / x subscript i / x suffix i / x sub i

xi (not a power!) x index i / sometimes x i if no misunderstanding with xi can occur / x superscript i

(x+y)3 ; (x+y)n x plus y all cubed ; x+y all to the nth

x3+y3 x cubed plus y cubed

a1 + a2 + ... +an a one plus a two and so on up to a (sub) n

a1 × a2 × ... ×an a one times a two and so on up to a (sub) n

the summation symbol

the sum as i runs from zero to n of the x i / the sum from i equals zero to n of the x i

the sum -pause- as i runs from one to n -pause- of the quantity n over 3 -
pause- plus the quantity 2 over n -pause- all squared (but probably nobody will
understand what you mean if he can't read the blackboard or the transparency!!)

parenthesis -pl. parentheses / round brackets

brackets / square brackets

braces / curly brackets

4
π pi

3. Ratio

The comparison of two quantities with the same unit, such as 450 g and 3.25 kg, is the ratio of
two quantities. This ratio is expressed by 450 : 3250 and can be simplified into 9 : 65.

A "ratio" is just a comparison between two different things. For instance, someone can look at a
group of people, count noses, and refer to the "ratio of men to women" in the group. Suppose
there are thirty-five people, fifteen of whom are men. Then the ratio of men to women is 15 to
20.

Notice that, in the expression "the ratio of men to women", "men" came first. This order is very
important, and must be respected: whichever word comes first, its number must come first. If
the expression is "the ratio of women to men", then the ratio will be "20 to 15".

Two-term Ratios

A ratio is a comparison between two quantities of the same kind, for example:

There are 3 red sweets and 5 yellow sweets in the box. We can say the ratio of red sweets to
yellow sweets is 3 to 5. Ratio can be written with the symbol ':' or as a fraction.

'3 to 5' can be written as '3:5' or 3/5.

When writing a ratio,

• change the quantities to the same unit if necessary

• reduce the ratio to its simplest form.

For example: What is the ratio of 5 minutes to 5 hours? First change the hours to minutes.
5 hours = 300 minutes Ratio = 5:300 = 1:60

4. Proportion

The equality of two ratios, such as 15 : 20 and 21 : 28, is called proportion.

A proportion is two ratios that are equal to each other.

5
When we say that a proportion is two ratios that are equal to each other, we mean this in the
sense of two fractions being equal to each other. For instance, 5/10 equals 1/2.

Directly Proportional

Two values x and y are directly proportional to each other when the ratio x : y is a constant (i.e.
always remains the same). This would mean that x and y will either increase together or decrease
together by an amount that would not change the ratio.

Knowing that the ratio does not change allows you to form an equation to find the value of an
unknown variable, for example:

If two pencils cost $1.50, how many pencils can you buy with $9.00?

The number of pencils is directly proportional to the cost.

Inversely Proportional

Two values x and y are inversely proportional to each other when their product xy is a constant
(always remains the same). This means that when x increases y will decrease, and vice versa, by
an amount such that xy remains the same.

Knowing that the product does not change also allows you to form an equation to find the value
of an unknown variable for example:

It takes 4 men 6 hours to repair a road. How long will it take 8 men to do the job if they work at
the same rate?

The number of men is inversely proportional to the time taken to do the job.

Usually, you will be able to decide from the question whether the values are directly proportional
or inversely proportional.

Exercise

1. Create sentences using the following words:

6
 a. subtract
b. product
c. multiply
d. fraction
e. divide

2. Create sentences using the following words:

a. absolute value
b. exponent
c. root
d. factorial
e. power