How To Read Mathematical Expressions

Kromarek mathematics pronunciation guide.

How to read mathematical expressions. For many of the symbols below the symbol is usually synonymous with its corresponding concept but in some situations a different convention may be used. Though a long ungainly expression and a short elegant one may technically equal the same thing often a math problem isn t considered done until the answer has been reduced to simplest terms. In order to write algebraic expressions it helps to know the key words and their algebraic definition learning these key terms helps one to write and read an algebraic expression that includes a variable. Let s write an algebraic expression described with a sentence.

Common pronunciations in british english gimson 1981 of mathematical and scientific symbols are given in the list below. So 9 x is an algebraic expression in the next few examples we will be working solely with. Some groups of letters are underlined in order to draw one s at tention to their pronunciation. Valiaho pronunciation of mathematical expressions pdf.

Built the expression from specific to general. While it might look tricky at first algebraic notation isn t that complicated. The international phonetic alphabet in unicode. You have to stick to the order of operations.

Math students are often asked to give their answer in the simplest terms in other words to write answers as small as possible. The way you write algebra expressions is called algebraic notation. We ll go through these one by one. Reading mathematical expressions a.

Logic sets functions etc. The sum of twice a number and six as you know the first operation in the sentence the sum is the last one to be performed. Arial unicode ms doulos sil unicode lucida sans unicode see. Algebra is a language that uses letters symbols and numbers to express relationships.

The following is a list of mathematical symbols used in all branches of mathematics to express a formula or to represent a constant. All the pages in this section need a unicode font installed e g. A mathematical concept is independent of the symbol chosen to represent it. The expression 9 8 represents a single number 17 this expression is a numerical expression also called an arithmetic expression the expression 9 x represents a value that can change if x is 2 then the expression 9 x has a value of 11 if x is 6 then the expression has a value of 15.

Basics a baplus b a baminus b a bab a times b a b a b a over b a divided by b 1 2 1 3 1. A short list divided by topic e g. Mathematical and scientific symbols. Variables coefficients operators exponents and parentheses.

Algebraic notation includes five main components.