CHAPTER 2

Lesson 1: The Nature of Mathematics as a Language

A: Characteristics of Mathematical Language

People often consider mathematics a difficult subject matter because they consider the
language of mathematics as foreign to them. However, like any language,mathematics
has its own symbols, syntax and rules to understand the expressed ideas and to
communicate ideas to others., Mathematics is about ideas -- relationships, quantities,
processes, ways of figuring out certain kinds of things, reasoning, and so on. It uses
words. When we have ideas, we often want to talk about them; that is when we need
words. Words help us communicate. The ideas are elsewhere. The language of
mathematics makes it easy to express the kinds of thoughts that mathematicians like
to express. There are three important characteristics of the language of mathematics.
These are precision, conciseness, and powerful.

1. Precision refers to the quality, condition of being exact and accurate. When an idea
is precise you will be able to make very fine distinctions. By being precise when
expressing ideas, you remove the probability that other people will not understand
how and which condition a situation holds true. For instance, when you state the
expression “the set of positive integers”, you are referring to a particular set of
numbers without explaining what these numbers are. This set of positive integers
refers to the numbers {1, 2, 3, ,,, }.

2. Conciseness involves using the most appropriate and minimal amount of effective
words to make one’s point understood. In the language of mathematics, the definition
of a term is concise if it is brief and to the point. This means that a great deal of the
definition is conveyed in just few words and is generally free of repetition,
redundancy, and unnecessary details. To illustrate this characteristic, let us try to
define a term which possesses conciseness. “A regular pentagon is a polygon with 5
equal sides and and angles.” It is already enough to define a regular pentagon that
satisfy the two conditions (1) has 5 equal sides, and (2) has 5 equal angles. There is
no need to provide more information to say that they have equal sides and equal
angles for a pentagon to be a regular polygon.

3. Powerful. The language of mathematics is considered to be powerful when it is

able to express complex thoughts with relative ease. The use of mathematics together
with a written language provides powerful tools and aids to human mind. The use of
mathematics is used in research studies and development of new technologies in the
sciences such as in computer programming, physics, medicine, etc.The language of
mathematics can be learned, but requires the efforts needed to learn any foreign
language. Thus, we need to get extensive practice with mathematical language ideas,
to enhance the ability to correctly read, write, speak, and understand mathematics.

B: The Grammar of Mathematics

Mathematics has its own grammar, vocabulary, syntax, word order, synonyms and
antonyms, conventions, idioms, abbreviations, negations, and sentence and paragraph
structures. The main reason for the importance of mathematical grammar is that
statements of mathematics are supposed to be precise. Mathematical sentences
become highly complex if the parts that made them up were not clear and simple
which makes it difficult to understand. The grammar of mathematics refers to the
structural rules governing the use of symbols representing mathematical objects.

Some difficulties in math language include the following:

 The word "is" could mean equality, inequality or membership in a set
 Different uses of a number; to express quantity (cardinal), to indicate the order
(ordinal), and as a label (nominal)
 Mathematical objects may be represented in many ways, such as sets and functions
 The words "and' & "or" means different from its English use

Example 1. Express the following using mathematical symbols

a. 5 is the square root of 25
b. 5 is less than 10
c. 5 is a prime number
It is common in mathematics to use the equal sign “=” when using the word is. For
example, the statement “two plus three is five” can be written in the form “2 + 3 = 5”.
Let us go back to the illustrations above. We have the following translations of the
statements a, b and c using mathematical symbols as follows:
a. 5 = ʹ t
b. 5 < 10
c. 5 ‫ א‬P
We can observe from the solutions that the equal sign is not necessarily used to
express the second and third statement. Instead, we use other symbols to express
correctly these two statements.

Exercise 2. 1. Describe the error in the following:

a. 5 is a subset of N
b. x > 1 and x < 4 is equivalent to x > 1< 4
c. Given the function x +10, find the value of f(4)
d. 0, 1, 2, 3, … are elements of counting numbers
e. 22/7 = 3.14

Lesson 2: Mathematical Expressions and Sentences

A: Expressions versus Sentences

What is an expression?
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: The number 5 can be written in many ways as follows:
2+3
10ൊ 2
(6 - 2) + 1
1 + 1+ 1 +1+ 1
This simple idea- that numbers has lots of 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 simple mean?
 Fewer symbols
 Fewer operations
 Better suited to current use
 Preferred/ style/format
Examples:
1. 3 + 1 + 5 and 9 are both names for the same number but 9 uses fewer 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 ͳ ͳ ͵ 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 is necessary.

What is a mathematical sentence?

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 sentences 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.
Example:
In the mathematical sentence 3 + 4 = 7. The equal sign is actually 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 truth 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?
B: 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 symbol used to
express equality of two expressions written on both sides of the symbols. 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 “‫” כ‬.
Division may be denoted by the following forms: ̶ ” or “a/b” such as 15 ൊ ͵ , can be
written as ͳ ͵ ͷ or ͳ ͷ ͵ .

6. A variable such as x is usually placed to y 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. ͵ ത ͵
ത ത 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:

Lesson 3: The Language of Sets

A: Set
Some sets occur very often in mathematics, and so we use special symbols for them.
Some such symbols follow:
N = The natural numbers or positive integers = {1, 2, 3, …}
Z = All integers, positive, negative, and zero = {…, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, …}
R = The real numbers.
A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects. A set is well-defined if an object
can be classified clearly whether or not it belongs to a set. For example, the set of
even integers less than 10 is well-defined since it is clear that the set contains
particular members of the set referring to 2, 4, 6, and 8.
We use capital letters of the English alphabet to name sets. The members of a set are
called elements. We use the symbol ̶ ‫ א‬to ̶ denote that an element belongs to or
member of a set while ̶ ∉ ̶ if an element does not belong to a set.
For example, let V the set of the vowels in the English Alphabet. Write symbolically
to describe u and w with respect to the given set V. u ‫ א‬V ՜ since the elements of V are
a, e, i, o, and u. w ∉ V ՜ since w is not a vowel. It is actually a consonant.
The cardinality of a set A refers to the number of elements of A. It is denoted by n(A).
Given set V above, n(V) = 5.
Methods in Writing a Set
The following methods can be used to write a set:
a. Roster Method – this is done by listing the elements of the set, enclosed in curly
brackets.
Example: Z = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
b. Rule Method – this is done by describing the elements
Example: Z = {the set of the first positive integers}
The set-builder notation in the form A = {x ‫ ݅ ݔ‬tǥ } read as “A is the set of all x such
that x is…} can be used to write a set by describing each element of the set. Example:
Z = {x x is one of first positive integers} or Z = {x x ߳ N, x ൑ ͷ }, (note that N is the
set of natural numbers)
Types of Sets
The following are common types of sets:
1. Universal set refers to all sets under investigation that are assumed to be contained
in some large fixed set, which we denote by U.
2. Empty set is a set that contains no elements. An empty set can be name using { } or
∅. An empty set is also called a null set.
3. Finite set is a set consisting of elements in which the number of element is
countable.
Consider the sets:
A = { 5, 7, 9, 11} and B = { 4 , 8 , 16, 32, 64, 128}
Obviously, A, B contain a finite number of elements, i.e. 4 elements in A and 6 in B.
Thus they are finite sets.
4. Infinite set is a set consisting of elements in which the number of element is not
countable or indefinite Consider the sets:
N = {1, 2, 3, 4, …}
X = {x 1 < x < 1th
In N, there are infinite numbers in the set. Note that X is also an infinite set since the
numbers between 1 and 10 have no definite number of elements. Unless you specify
that x is an integer, then it becomes a finite set.
5. A subset is a set taken from another set. Let A be a given set whose elements are
the integers from 1 to 10. From A, we form a set B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}. Hence, B is
considered to be a subset of A. In symbol, we write B ⊆ A.
A subset is classified into two:
a. Proper subset is a subset that is not identical to the original set - it contains fewer
elements. We use the symbol “⊂”.
b. Improper subset is a subset whose elements are indentical to the original set and
the empty set.
To determine the number of subsets of set A, denoted by s(A), use the formula: s(A) =
ʹ ݊ , where n is the number of elements of A.
Example: Let C = {red, blue, yellow}. List the proper and improper subsets of C.
Note that C has n = 3 elements. Using the formula, ʹ ͵ ൌ t. Hence it has 8 subsets: 6
proper subsets and 2 improper subsets.
Proper subsets:
{red}, {blue}, {yellow}, {red, blue}, {red, yellow}, {blue, yellow}
Improper subsets:
{red, blue, yellow}, { }
Try this!

B: Relations and operations on sets

A. Relationships between and among sets
The relationships between two or more sets can be described as follows:
1. Equal sets. Two or more sets are equal if they have the same elements.
Example: Let A = {a, c, t} and B = {c, a, t}
Since the A and B have exactly the same elements regardless of the order of the
elements, A and B are equal sets. We write A = B.
2. Equivalent sets. Two or more sets are equivalent if they have the same number of
elements.
Example: Let C = {4, 7, 10} and D = {x, y, z}
Both C and D have 3 elemements, that is, n(C) = n(D) = 3. Therefore, C and D are
equivalent sets. We write C ̱ D.
3. Joint sets. Two or more sets are joint sets if they have at least one common element.
Example: Let E = {the letters of the word “math”} and F = {the letters of the word
“music”}. Examine the common elements found in both E and F. We see that they
have a common element, m. Therefore, E and F are joint sets.
4. Disjoint sets. Two or more sets are disjoint sets if they do not have at least one
common element.
Example: Let G ={1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and H = {6, 7, 8, 9, 10}. Since we do not see any
element common to G and H, then G and H are disjoint sets.

B. Operations on Sets
Let us consider two sets A and B to illustrate the four operations namely: union,
intersection, difference, and complement.
1. The union of two sets denoted by A ⋃ B contains all the elements contained in
either set
(or both sets). More formally, x ∊ A ⋃ B if x ‫ א‬A or x ‫ א‬B (or both).
2. The intersection of two sets denoted by A ⋂ B contains only the elements that are
in
both sets. More formally, x ‫ א‬A ⋂ B if x ‫ א‬A and x ‫ א‬B.
3. The difference of two sets denoted by A – B contains the elements found in A but
not in
B. Conversely, B – A contains the elements found in B not in A. More formally, x ‫א‬
(A –
B) if x ‫ א‬A and x ∉ B. Moreover, x ‫( א‬B – A) if x ‫ א‬B and x ∉ A.
4. The complement of a set A contains everything that is not in the set A. The
complement
is notated A’, or Ac, or sometimes ~A.
Example:
Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
A = {2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10}
B = {2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10}
Perform the following operations:
a. A ⋃ B
b. A ⋂ B
c. A – B
d. B – A
e. Ac
f. Bc
Answers:
a. A ⋃ B = {2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
b. A ⋂ B = {2, 3, 7, 10}
c. A – B = {6, 8}
d. B – A = {5, 9}
e. Ac = {1, 4, 5, 9}
f. Bc = {1, 5, 6, 8}

C: The Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is a pictoral representation of sets using enclosed areas in the plane.
The universal set U is represented by the points in a rectangle, and the other sets are
represented by circles lying within the rectangle.
The following diagram illustrates the real number system using a Venn Diagram.

Fig. 1. The Real Number System

Let us present given sets using a Venn Diagram.

Example 1. Show a Venn Diagram for U = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9}, A = { 1, 2, 3}, and
B ={5, 7, 9}

A and B are Disjoint Sets

Example 2: Show a Venn Diagram for U = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11}, C = {3, 5, 7}, and D
={7,9, 11}

C and D are Joint Sets

Example 3: Show A Venn Diagram for

U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}, E = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, and F = {4, 5, 7}

F is a subset of E (F ⊂ E)
Example 4:
A survey asks 200 people on what beverage they drink in the morning. Suppose 20
report tea only, 80 report coffee only, 40 report both.
1. How many people drink tea in the morning?
2. How many people drink neither tea or coffee?
Solution.
This problem can be answered by creating a Venn diagram. Draw two overlapping
circles since based on the problem, there are people who drink both coffee and tea.
1. We can find the people who drink tea by adding those who drink only tea to those
who drink both. Hence, there are 30 + 40 = 70 people.
2. Those who drink neither are those not contained in the any of the three other
groupings, so we can count those by subtracting from the cardinality of the universal
set, 200. Hence, there are 200 – 80 – 30 – 40 = 50 people who drink neither.
The Venn Diagram for the problem is illustrated below:

Lesson 4: The Language of Logic

A: Logic
Logic is the study of correct thinking and reasoning. It uses principles aand
methods to distinguish valid arguments from those that are not. It is the foundation for
expressing logical methods used to prove theorems, design computer software, and to
solve mathematical problems.
Logic is a tool for working with complicated statements. It illustrates the importance
of precision and conciseness. It allows us to determine the validity of an argument in
and out of mathematics. For lawyers, they use logic to communicate more effectively,
construct arguments, analyze legal contracts, and make decisions.
In logic, assertions are made by combining words and symbols in the form of
sentences. Such assertions are called statements or propositions, which are declarative
sentences that are either true or false – but not both.
A statement or proposition may be denoted by a variable like P, Q, R,…
Examples:
P: University of Northern Philippines is in Vigan City.
Q: Light is faster than sound.
R: 1 + 3 = 4.
S: 7 is an even number.
Simple and compound statement
A simple statement is a statement that conveys a single idea. A compound statement
is a statement that conveys two or more ideas. It is formed by connecting simple
statements with words and phrases such as and, or, if…then, if and only if, etc.
Examples:
1. 20 is divisible by 4.
2. Taylor Swift is a singer and Stephen Curry is a basketball player.
3. If a polygon has three sides, then it is a triangle.
4. Mark goes to gym or stays at home every Friday.
Statement 1 is a simple statement while statements 2, 3, and 4 are examples of
compound statements.

B: Logical Connectives
Connecting simple statements with words and phrases such as and, or, if…then,
and if and only if createds a compound statement. For instance, “My mother attends a
meeting or buys in a grocery store”. The word or is a connective for the two simple
statements.
Logical connective is a word or symbol that joins two sentences to produce a new
one. George Boole uses symbols such as p, q, r, and s to represent simple statements
and the symbols ˄, ˅, ⁓, →, ↔ to represent connectives.
Logical Connectives and Symbols

Example1:
Let p: I review my lessons.
q: I play video games.
r: I go to the beach.
s: I get a reward.
The following are compound statements formed by using logical connectives. Write
the following statements:
a. q ˄ p
b. q ˅ r
c. ⁓ r
d. p → s
e. s ↔ p
Solutions:
a. I play video games and review my lessons.
b. I play video games or go to the beach.
c. I do not go to the beach.
d. If I review my lessons, then I get a reward.
e. I get a reward if and only if I review my lessons.
Example 2. Indicate the simple statements by p and q and express the compound
statement in symbolic form of the following compound statements.
a. John can program in C++ and he can program in Java.
b. If x is an even number then it is a multiple of 2.
Solution:
a. p: John can program in C++.
q: John can program in Java.
p˄q
b. p: x is an even number.
q: x is a multiple of 2.
p→s
Exercise:
In every item, indicate what statements p, q, or r might stand for and then express
the item using the correct symbol (⋀, ⋁, → , ↔ , ¬).
1. r ് െ ͳ Ͳ
2. 2 and -3 are rational zeroes of ݂ .
3. y ൑ x
4. If x = y, then y = x.
5. Triangle ABC is a right triangle if and only if c2 = a2 + b2.

C: The Truth Table

The truth values of a compound statement are respectively determined by the truth
values of the original statements and the connectives used to form them. The decision
of accepting or rejecting a statement depends on the truith values of a proposition. An
acceptable statement is given a truth value “true” and unacceptable statement is given
a truth value “false”.
a. Negation.
If a proposition p is true, then the proposition ⁓ p is false. However, if p is false, then
⁓ p is true.
For example:
Let p: “I study at University of Northern Philippines.” be a true statement. Then, ⁓ p
is stated as “ I do not study at the University of Northern Philippines.” or “It is false
that I study at the University of Northern Philippines.” Which is a negation of the
original proposition p.
b. Conjunction
The conjunction of two statements p and q denoted by p ⋀ q is defined by the
following truth table.
The only condition for p ⋀ q to be a true statement is when both p and q are true.
c. Disjunction
The disjunction of two statements p and q denoted by p q is defined by the
following truth table.

This means that the disjunction of two statements is true if and only if at keast one of
the statements is true.
d. Implication or Conditional
In a conditional statement, the truth of p implies the truth of q. If p is true, then q
must be true. The only way that this can fail (or be false) is when p is true while q is
false.
The truth table of p → q is given in the following table.

e. Biconditional
The biconditional statement p ↔ ‫ ݍ‬, is defined by the following truth table.
Summary of truth values of compound statements using logical connectives

Example 1. Given the truth values of the propositions A, B, C, and D. If A is true, B is

false, C is true, and D is false, give the truth value of the following:
a. [(⁓A ⋀ B) → C ] ⋁ D
b. [ (A → B) → ⁓ C] ↔ [⁓ B → ⁓ ( C ⋀ D)]
Solutions:
We simply substitute the truth value of each proposition, i.e.
a. [(⁓T ⋀ F) → T ] ⋁ F
[(F ⋀ F) → T ] ⋁ F
(F → T) ⋁ F
T⋁F
T
b. [ (A → B) → ⁓ C] ↔ [⁓ B → ⁓ ( C ⋀ D)]
[ (T → F) → ⁓ T] ↔ [⁓ F → ⁓ ( T ⋀ F)]
(F → F) ↔ (T → ⁓ F)
T ↔ (T → T)
T↔T
T
Example 2. Construct a truth table for
a. [⁓ p → ( p ⋀ q)]
b. [ (p ↔ q) ⋁ (p → r)] → ⁓ (q ⋀ r)
Solution:
a. [⁓ p → ( p ⋀ q)]
Since it involves 2 propositions, there are 4 combinations.

b. [(p ↔ q) ⋁ (p → r)] → ⁓ (q ⋀ r)
Since it involves 3 propositions, there are 8 combinations.
Exercise:
A. Give the truth value if A is false, B is true, C is false and D is true.
a. [(C → B) → ⁓ C] ↔ [B → (C ⋀ A)]
b. [(D ⋀ B) ⋁ (A ⋀ C)] ⋀ B
c. [(A ⋁ B) → C] → [ B → (A ⋁ B)]
B. Construct the truth table for the following:
a. [(p ⋁ q) → r] ⋀ [ (r ⋀ p) → r]
b. (r ⋀ p) ↔ [(p ⋁ q) → ⁓ p] ⋀ (p ⋁ q)