How To Read Mathematical Expressions

Some groups of letters are underlined in order to draw one s at tention to their pronunciation.

How to read mathematical expressions.

Mathematical and scientific symbols. Logic sets functions etc. This is a guide on how to pronounce mathematical symbols and names but not on how to read expressions. Algebra is a language that uses letters symbols and numbers to express relationships.

Common pronunciations in british english gimson 1981 of mathematical and scientific symbols are given in the list below. 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. 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. The way you write algebra expressions is called algebraic notation.

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. Valiaho pronunciation of mathematical expressions pdf. You have to stick to the order of operations. The following is a list of mathematical symbols used in all branches of mathematics to express a formula or to represent a constant.

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. Translating verbal sentences into algebraic expressions example. Kromarek mathematics pronunciation guide. A short list divided by topic e g.

Reading mathematical expressions a. The international phonetic alphabet in unicode. Built the expression from specific to general. Math students are often asked to give their answer in the simplest terms in other words to write answers as small as possible.

Variables coefficients operators exponents and parentheses. Let s write an algebraic expression described with a sentence. Arial unicode ms doulos sil unicode lucida sans unicode see. You can see all five of them in the expression below.

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. We ll go through these one by one. Algebraic notation includes five main components. 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.

So 9 x is an algebraic expression in the next few examples we will be working solely with.