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Lesson 5 Mathematical Expressions and Sentences

Mathematical expressions refer to mathematical objects like numbers, sets, and matrices. Expressions have different names, like writing the number 5 as 2 + 3 or 10/2. Simplifying expressions means writing them using fewer symbols or operations. Mathematical sentences use verbs and connectives to state a complete thought, like the sentence "3 + 4 = 7" which uses the equal sign as a verb. Sentences can be true or false, and conventions like order of operations help mathematicians understand each other's work.

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83 views3 pages

Lesson 5 Mathematical Expressions and Sentences

Mathematical expressions refer to mathematical objects like numbers, sets, and matrices. Expressions have different names, like writing the number 5 as 2 + 3 or 10/2. Simplifying expressions means writing them using fewer symbols or operations. Mathematical sentences use verbs and connectives to state a complete thought, like the sentence "3 + 4 = 7" which uses the equal sign as a verb. Sentences can be true or false, and conventions like order of operations help mathematicians understand each other's work.

Uploaded by

Placido Bucyay
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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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Mathematical Expressions and Sentences

Expressions versus Sentences

We call the mathematical analogue of noun as expression. Thus, an expression is a name


given to a mathematical object of interest. Whereas, in English we need to talk about people,
places, and things. We know that mathematics has much different objects of interest such as
numbers, sets, matrix, ordered pair, etc.

Ideas regarding expressions

a. Expressions have different names. In mathematics, we frequently need to work with


numbers, these numbers are the most common mathematical expressions. And, numbers
have lots of different names.

Example 2. The number 5 can be written in many ways as follows:

2 + 3 10÷2 (6 - 2) + 1 1 + 1+ 1 +1+ 1

This simple idea- that numbers has many different names – is extremely important in
mathematics. This is the same concept as synonyms in English (words that have the same (or
nearly the same) meaning.

b. Common in solving expressions is to simplify. The most common type of problem


involving expressions is to simplify. But what does the word „simple‟ mean?

✓ Fewer symbols
✓ Fewer operations
✓ Better suited to current use
✓ Preferred/ style/format
Examples 3.

1. 3 + 1 + 5 and 9 are both names for the same number but 9 uses shorter symbols.
2. 3 + 3+ 3 + 3 + 3 and 5x3 are both names for the same number, but 5x3 uses fewer
operation
3. 1.33 and 1 1/3 have the nearly the same values, but for some learners it may be suited to
consider 1 1/3 as this is easier for them to understand its value. Besides, 1 1/3 is not
exactly equal to 1.33.
4. We write ½ instead of 13/26. We usually write reduced form or simplest form as fraction
in simplest form as it is necessary.

A mathematical sentence is the analogue of an English sentence; it is a correct assignment of


mathematical symbols that states a complete thought. Sentences are used to state complete
thoughts. A typical English sentence has at least one noun, and at least one verb. For example,
Joseph loves Mathematics.
Truth of a Sentence

The notion of truth (the property of being true or false) is of fundamental importance in
the mathematical language.

Ideas regarding mathematical sentence

a. Mathematical Sentences have verbs and connectives. Just as English sentences have
verbs, so do mathematical sentences.

For instance, in the mathematical sentence 3 + 4 = 7. The equal sign is the verb and
indeed one of the most popular mathematical verbs. The symbol “+” in 3 + 4 = 7 is a
connective which is used to connect objects of a given type.

b. Truth of Sentences. Sentences can be true or false. It makes sense to ask the truthfulness
of a sentence. Ask if, Is it true? Is it false? Is it sometimes true? Is it sometimes false?

How to decide whether something is a sentence?

• Read it aloud, and ask yourself the question: Does it state a complete thought? If YES,
then it is a sentence.

• You may also ask yourself the question: Does it make sense to ask about the truth of it?

Conventions in the Mathematical Language

Mathematical conventions are particular symbols, facts, names, and notations used by
mathematicians, engineers, scientists, and other users of mathematics in their writings, studies,
and work.

Mathematical symbols and names are conventional. People abide by the conventions to
understand each other without having to constantly redefine terms. Some of the most common
mathematical conventions include the following:

1. The equal sign “=” is one of the most common mathematical symbols used to express
equality of two expressions written on both sides of the symbol. It is used to replace the
word “is” but not always depending on the meaning thought of the statement.

2. When dealing with order of operations, it is a convention to perform the order of


operations as follows: parentheses, exponentiation, multiplication and division (from
left to right), and addition and subtraction (from left to right). We can use the
mnemonic PEMDAS to perform the order of operations.

3. Addition of numbers when done vertically is performed from right to left.

4. The arithmetic operations are implied by the following words/terms:


a. Addition “+” : plus, add, sum, total, more than, increase by,…
b. Subtraction “–”: minus, subtract, difference, less than, take away, decrease by,
deduct, …
c. Multiplication “x”: times, multiply, product, groups of, …
d. Division “÷”: divide, quotient, split, share, …

5. Multiplication may be denoted by a dot “.”, a parenthesis ( ), or asterisk “∗”. Division


may be denoted by the following forms: " ” or “a/b” such as 15 ÷3, can be written as
or 15/3

6. A variable such as x is usually placed to the right of the equal sign and the expression
that defines the variable to the right of the equal sign. For example: Let x = the set of
even integers between 10 and 20.

7. A bar is placed over the digits that repeat in writing decimals such as 1.̅̅̅̅ for
expressing 1.33… or 4/3.

8. One dozen means 12.

9. Any number divided by zero is undefined.

10. When a number is drawn horizontally, the convention is that the positive direction is to
the right; and when the number line is drawn vertically, the positive direction is
upward.

11. A set of consecutive numbers is expressed by the first and last numbers as “the integers
from 5 to 10” would indicate that there is actually 6 integers, even without using the
word inclusive. On the other hand, the expression as “the integers between 5 and 10”
indicates that there are actually four integers only which means that 5 and 10 are
excluded in the set.

12. The following are standard symbols used as conventions in mathematics:


Conventions Meaning
x≥y x is greater than or equal to y
x≤y x is less than or equal to y
x≠y x is not equal to y
|x| the absolute value of x
x⊥y line x is perpendicular to line y
√𝑥 the square root of x
3
√𝑥 the cube root of x
𝑥2 the square of x
x≈y x is approximately equal to y
x% x percent

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