Chapter 2 Mathematical Language and

Symbols
TOPICS

 2.1 The Language of Mathematics

 2.2 Expressions vs. Sentences
 2.3 Unary and Binary Operations
 2.4 Some Elementary Logic
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:

1. discuss the language, symbols and

conventions of mathematics;
2. explain the nature of mathematics as a
language;
3. perform operations on mathematical
expressions correctly
4. acknowledge that mathematics is a useful
language.
Section 2.1 The Language of
Mathematics
Characteristics of the Mathematics language
Mathematics language is:
 Precise, it is able to make very fine

distinctions or definitions.
 Concise or brief i.e., if someone can say

things in long expositions or sentences, a

mathematician can say it briefly.
 Powerful i.e., one can express complex

thoughts with relative ease.

For example
 “The sum of any two real numbers is also a
real number”.
 In the language of mathematics this can be

written very briefly as:

a, b , a  b 
Mathematics has symbols
 that only those who study it understand these
symbols.
 Some of these symbols are

 , , ,,, , , , , , 
Meaning of some Mathematical
Symbols

 , the sum of
, there exists
, for every or for any

, element of or member of

, not an element of or not a member of

, subset
, if then
More mathematical symbols
 if  and  onlyif
 or
 and
 inf inity
N SetofNaturalNumbers
 SetofIntegers
 Setof Re alNumbers
Mathematics describes

 the real world

 abstract structures
mathematics is the language of the
 sciences,
 business,
 economics,
 music,
 architecture,
 the arts,
 even politics

Mathematics since is a universal

language. It is the common language
of the world.
 The left brain hemisphere is responsible for
thinking in mathematics and the languages.

Is the object If you see it rotating

rotating clockwise then it is
clockwise or your right brain
hemisphere that is
counter
working at the
clockwise? moment. If counter
clockwise, your left
brain hemisphere is
working at the
moment.
Section 2.2 Expressions vs. Sentences
 A sentence must contain a complete thought.
 A mathematical sentence must state a

complete thought as well.

 An expression is a name given to a

mathematical object of interest.

“1+2” is a mathematical expression but is not
a mathematical sentence.
Examples of mathematical expressions:

 An ordered pair (a,b)

 1 4
a matrix  
  2 3 
 A function f(x)
 The set {1,3,5}
Truth of Sentences
Mathematical sentences may either be true,
or false.
Example 1
Write as English sentences and say whether
they are true2 or false.
x , x  0
a.
x, y ,
b. (x + y)2 =x2 + 2xy + y2
m, n  Z , m  n  m  n
c.
a, b  Q, ab  0  a  0  b  0
d.
Solution
a. For any real number x , its square is greater
than or equal to 0. TRUE
b. For any two real numbers x, y , the square
of their sum is equal to the sum of their
squares plus twice their product. TRUE
c. There exist integers m, n such that m minus
n is less than or equal to m plus n. TRUE
d. For all rational numbers a, b, if their
product is zero then a equals 0 and b equals
0. FALSE
Example 2
Write as mathematical sentences. Discuss how
the word “is” is used.
a) 10 is the square root of 100.
b) 10 is greater than 9.
c) 10 is an even number.
d) 10 is a multiple of 5.
Solution
 a) 100  10
 b) 10>9
 c) 10 ε {2n, n ε N }
 d) 10 ε { 5n, n ε N}

The word “is” may mean equality,

inequality, or membership in a set.
Remarks
Numbers may be used as
 cardinal numbers (used for counting)
 ordinal number (shows order)
 nominal number (used as name)

Examples of nominal numbers are:

The number at the back of the Michael Jordan
is “23”.
The postal zip code of Marilao is 3019.
The name of the shop is “680”
Section 2.3 Unary and Binary Operations

 The plus sign between 2 and 3 is addition in

2+3=5 is a binary operation.
 A unary operation accepts only one value or

operand.
 The plus and the minus signs before a

number may not mean addition or

subtraction. It is read as positive and negative
signs. When written this way they are called
unary operations.
Examples of Unary operations

 -5
 Sin x
 Cos 450
 Tan π/3
Binary operations
 Take two real numbers perform an operation
on them and produce another real number.
Here you are performing binary operation on
the two numbers.
 If we let multiplication (X) denote a binary

operation, then 4 X 6 = 24 is a real number.

Examples of Binary operations
Addition (e.g. 4 + 5 = 9).
Subtraction (e.g. 10 – 8 = 2).
Multiplication (e.g. 2*5=15)
Division (e.g. 10/5=2)
Properties of Binary Operation:
Addition and Multiplication
1. Closure of Binary Operations
The product and the sum of any two real numbers
is also a real number. i.e.
∀x,y ∈R , x+y ∈R
∀ x,y ∈R , x●y ∈R
ii. Commutativity of Binary Operations
∀ x,y ∈R , x+y=y+x (addition)
∀ x,y ∈R , x●y=y●x (multiplication).
iii. Associativity of Binary Operations
∀x,y,z∈R , (x+y)+z=x+(y+z) Addition
∀x,y,z∈R, (x●y)●z=x●(y●z) Multiplication
Properties of Binary Operations: Addition and
Multiplication

iv. Distributivity of Binary Operations

∀ x,y,z ∈R , z(x+y)=zx+zy
v. Identity Elements of Binary Operations
∀x∈R , x+0=0+x=x. For example, 5+ 0=0+5=5.
The identity for addition is 0.
∀x∈R, x●1=1●x=x for any real number x. For
example, 4●1=4 and 1●4=4. The identity for
multiplication is 1.
vi. Inverses of Binary Operations
∀x∈R, x + (-x)=-x+x =0 (for addition, inverse of any x
is -x).
∀x∈R, x●(1/x)=(1/x)●x=1 (for multiplication, inverse
of any x is 1/x, x≠0)
Section 2.4 Some Fundamentals of Logic

 Logic determines the validity of arguments in

and out of mathematics.
 Logic illustrates the importance of precision

and conciseness of the language of

mathematics.
Propositions
 A proposition is a statement which is either

true (T) or false (F).

Example 1

 Can you tell which are true, and which are

false in the following statements? If it is false,
state why?
a. 9 is a prime number.
b. 25 + 32 = 8
x y 0
c.
d. 10< - 3
Answers
a. False. Prime numbers have no other
factors than 1 and itself. 9 can be expressed
as 3●3.
b. True.
c. True
d. False. A negative number is always less
than a positive number.
The Truth Table
 A truth table is a table that shows the truth
value of a compound statement for all
possible truth values of its simple statements
Negation

 A statement is a negation of another if the

word not is introduced in the negative
statement.

 Let P be a proposition. The negation of P is

“not P” or P.
 The following is its truth table.
Truth Table

P P
T F
F T
Example 2

What is the negation of the following

statements?
 P: √2 is a rational number.
 R: 6 is an odd number.
Solution
a. 2 is not a rational number 2or is
irrational.In
P symbols,
b. 6 is not an odd number or 6 is an even
number. In R symbols,
Logical Connectives

 Let P and Q be propositions.

 Most common conjunctions in mathematics are

“or “ and “and”, which are denoted by  and

, respectively.
 If two statements are joined by “and” like “P

and Q”, then it is a statement that is true if

and only if both P and Q are true.
 If two statements are joined with “or” like “P or

Q”, then it is a statement that is true if and

only if P is true or Q is true, or any one of P or
Q is true.
Logical Connectives

P Q PΛQ PνQ
F F F F
F T F T
T F F T
T T T T
Implications
 Suppose P and Q are propositions. The
proposition P  an
Q (If P then Q) is called
implication. P Q
 P is called the premise and Q is called the

conclusion.
Other ways of writing this are:
 P implies Q
 Q if P
 Q is implied by P
 Q only if P
Implications
P Q P Q
F F T
F T T
T F F
T T T
Example 3
 Write the following in symbolic form using P, Q, and R
for statements and the symbols where
P: DU30 is a good president.
Q: Government officials are corrupt.
R: People are happy.
a) If DU30 is a good president then government officials
are not corrupt.
b) If government officials are not corrupt then the people
are happy.
c) If DU30 is a good president and people are happy then
government officials are not corrupt.
d) DU30 is not a good president if and only if government
officials are corrupt and the people are not happy.
Answers

a. P  Q

b. Q  R

c.
P  R  Q

d.
P  (Q  R )
Converse, Inverse, Contrapositive
 Suppose P and Q are propositions.
 Given the implication.P  Q
 The converse is
QP
 Its inverse is
 P  Q
 Its contrapositive is
 Q  P
In words
Given: If P then Q.
Inverse: If not P then not Q.
Converse: If Q then P.
Contrapositive: If not Q then not P.
truth table of implication statement

P Q P  Q
F F T
F T T
T F F
T T T
 inverse converse contrapositive
P   Q Q  P Q  P
T T T
F F T
T T F
T T T
Example 4
Give the converse , inverse, and contrapositive
of the following implications.
a. If this movie is interesting, then I am
watching it.
b. If p is prime then it is odd.
Answers

a . Inverse: If this movie is not interesting then

I am not watching it.
Converse: If I am watching this movie then it
is interesting.
Contrapositive: If I am not watching this
movie then it is not interesting.
b. Inverse: If p is not prime then it is not odd.
Converse: If p is odd then it is prime.
Contrapositive: If p is not odd then it is not
prime.
Biconditional

 Given the propositions P and Q. The

statement

 P Q, also read P if and only if Q is called
biconditional.  
 It is equivalent to (P Q) Λ (Q P)
Example 5
 Indicate what propositions P, Q, or R might
stand for then express the statement using
the correct symbols ( ).
 Statement : A function f has an inverse if and

only if
f is one-to-one and onto.
Answers
Let P: A function f has an inverse.
Q: f is one-to-one.
R: f is onto.
Then using the mathematical symbols, the
statement is equivalent to
 P  (Q  R )  (Q  R )  P 
Equivalent to
P  (Q  R )
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are used to describe the variable/s
in a statement.
Types:
1. Universal quantifier which means “for all”,
 by
“for every” denoted
2. Existential quantifiers are “there exists”, “for
some”, denoted
 by .
Compound Quantifiers

 In using more than one quantifiers that are the

same, the order in which these quantifiers
appear does not matter.
 But in using mixed quantifiers, the order in

which these quantifiers appear is important.

Example 6
Write as an English sentence and determine if it
is true or false.

a.  x , y , x  y  10
b. x    , y  , y 2  x

c. x   , y  , y  x
2
Answers

For every real number x, there exists a real number y

such that the sum of x and y is equal to 10. TRUE
For every positive integer x, there exists a real
number y such that the square of y is equal to x.
TRUE
There exists a positive integer x such that for all real
number y, the square of y is equal to x. FALSE