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Mathematical Notation

The document defines common mathematical notation for logical statements, sets, and number sets. Logical statements are represented by symbols like ∨ for "or", ^ for "and", and ! for "implies". Set notation includes {,}, for sets, ∈ for element of, and ∩ and ∪ for intersection and union. Commonly used number sets are defined, such as N for natural numbers, Z for integers, Q for rational numbers, and R for real numbers.

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Diogo Sabino
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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
171 views5 pages

Mathematical Notation

The document defines common mathematical notation for logical statements, sets, and number sets. Logical statements are represented by symbols like ∨ for "or", ^ for "and", and ! for "implies". Set notation includes {,}, for sets, ∈ for element of, and ∩ and ∪ for intersection and union. Commonly used number sets are defined, such as N for natural numbers, Z for integers, Q for rational numbers, and R for real numbers.

Uploaded by

Diogo Sabino
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Commonly Used Mathematical

Notation
1 Logical Statements

Common symbols for logical statement:

_ logical disjunction: "or"


Note:
in mathematics this is always an "inclusive or"
i.e. "on or the other or both"

^ logical conjunction: "and"

: logical negation: "not"

! material implication: implies; if .. then


Note:
P !Q means:
if P is true then Q is also true;
if P is false then nothing is said about Q
can also be expressed as:
if P then Q
P implies Q
Q, if P
P only if Q
P is a su¢ cient condition for Q
Q is a necessary condition for P
sometimes writen as )

f :X!Y function arrow: function f maps the set X into the set Y

function composition: f g function such that (f g)(x) = f (g(x))

$ material equivalence: if and only if (i¤)

1
Note:
P $Q means:
means P is true if Q is true and P is false if Q is false
can also be expressed as:
P; if and only if Q
Q, if and only if P
P is a necessary and su¢ cient condition for Q
Q is a necessary and su¢ cient condition for P
sometimes writen as ,

is much less than

is much greater than

) therefore

8 universal quanti…cation: for all/any/each

9 existential quanti…cation: there exists

9! uniqueness quanti…cation: there exists exactly one

de…nition: is de…ned as
Note:
sometimes writen as :=

2
2 Set Notation

A set is some collection of objects. The objects contained in a set are known as
elements or members. This can be anything from numbers, people, other sets,
etc. Some examples of common set notation:

f; g set brackets: the set of ...


e.g. fa; b; cg means the set consisting of a, b, and c

fjg set builder notation: the set of ... such that ...
i.e. fxjP (x)g means the set of all x for which P (x) is true.
e.g. fn 2 N : n2 < 20g = f0; 1; 2; 3; 4g
Note: fjg and f:g are equivalent notation

; empty set
i.e. a set with no elements. fg is equivalent notation

2 set membership: is an element of

2
= is not an element of

2.1 Set Operations

Commonly used operations on sets:

[ Union

A[B set containing all elements of A and B.


A [ B = fx j x 2 A _ x 2 Bg

\ Intersect

A\B set containing all those elements that A and B have in common

3
A \ B = fx j x 2 A ^ x 2 Bg

n Di¤erence or Compliment

AnB set containing all those elements of A that are not in B


AnB = fx j x 2 A ^ x 2
= Bg

Subset

A B subset: every element of A is also element of B


A B proper subset: A B but A 6= B.

Superset

A B every element of B is also element of A.


A B A B but A 6= B.

2.2 Number Sets

Most commonly used sets of numbers:

P Prime Numbers

Set of all numbers only divisible by 1 and itself.


P = f1; 2; 3; 5; 7; 11; 13; 17:::g

N Natural Numbers

Set of all positive or sometimes all non-negative intigers


N = f1; 2; 3; :::g, or sometimes N = f0; 1; 2; 3; :::g

Z Intigers

Set of all integers whether positive, negative or zero.


Z = f:::; 2; 1; 0; 1; 2; :::g:

4
Q Rational Numbers

Set of all fractions

R Real Numbers

Set of all rational numbers and all irrational numbers p


(i.e. numbers which cannot be rewritten as fractions, such as , e, and 2).

Some variations:

R+ All positive real numbers


R All positive real numbers
R2 Two dimensional R space
Rn N dimensional R space

C Complex Numbers

Set of all number of the form:


a + bi
where:
a and b are real numbers, and
i is the imaginary unit, with the property i2 = 1

Note: P N Z Q R C

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