RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

WEEK - 4

MODULE 2:
Mathematical Language and Symbols

A. Characteristics of Mathematical Language

B. Mathematical Expressions and Sentences
C. Conventions in the mathematical Language
D. Four Basic Concepts
E. Elementary Logic
F. Formality

Overview

Just like any ordinary language sentences of mathematics also have

complicated structures which can be easily understood if one knows some of the
basic terminologies of grammar in math.

Some parts of speech in math language are very similar to those in natural
language and some are quite different.

SOURCE:
file:///C:/Users/rtearnhart/Desktop/MMW%20Training/Course%20Material%205.%20grammar.pdf

The language of mathematics can be learned, but requires the efforts needed to
learn any foreign language.

Study Guide

Learning Outcomes

LO1: Discuss the language, symbols and conventions of mathematics.

LO2: Explain the Nature of Mathematics as a Language

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LO3: Perform operations on mathematical expressions correctly.

LO4. Acknowledge that mathematics is a useful language.

Mathematical Language

Language is the system of words, signs and symbols which people use to
express ideas, thoughts and feelings; systematic means of communicating ideas or
feelings by the use conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures or marks having
understood meanings (Merriam-Webster, 2017).

Mathematical Language is the system used to communicate mathematical ideas

that is more precise than any other language one may think of. It has its own
grammar, syntax, vocabulary, word order, synonyms, negations, conventions,
idioms, abbreviations, sentence structure and paragraph structure. All human
languages have grammatical structures that distinguish between nouns and verbs
that express the difference between objects and the actions these objects carry.
Numbers, measurements, spaces, shapes, functions, patterns, data, and
arrangements are mathematical nouns while the mathematical verbs may be
considered as the four main actions attributed to problem-solving and reasoning.

A. Characteristics of Mathematical Language

The language of mathematics makes it easy to express the kinds of thoughts that
mathematicians like to express. It is:
• Precise: able to make very fine distinctions
• Concise: able to say things briefly
• Powerful: able to express complex thoughts with relative ease
• Nontemporal: no past, no present, no future

Vocabulary vs Sentences

Every language has its vocabulary (the words), and its rules for combining these
words into complete thoughts (the sentences). Mathematics is no exception. As a
first step in discussing the mathematical language, we will make a very broad
classification between the ‘nouns’ of mathematics (used to name mathematical
objects of interest) and the ‘sentences’ of mathematics (which state complete
mathematical thoughts).

B. Mathematical Expressions and Sentences

English: Nouns vs Sentences

Mathematics: Expressions vs Sentences

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The mathematical analogue of a ‘noun’ will be called an 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’ll see that mathematics has
much different ‘objects of interest’. The mathematical analogue of a ‘sentence’ will
also be called a sentence. A mathematical sentence, just as an English sentence,
must state a complete thought. The table below summarizes the analogy.

ENGLISH MATHEMATICS
name given to an NOUN (person, place, thing) EXPRESSION
object of interest Examples: Examples: x, 3y, 1+1, 1/8
Lisa, Manila, smartphone
a complete thought SENTENCE SENTENCE
Examples: Examples:
RTU is in the cities of 2x = 10
Mandaluyong and Pasig. 1+1=2
Manila is the capital of the
Philippines.

Since people frequently need to work with numbers, these are the most common
type of mathematical expression. And, numbers have lots of different names.
For example, the expressions
7 5+2 7(1) 14 ÷ 2 (8 – 2) + 1 1+1+1+1+1+1+1

The simple idea—that numbers have lots of different names—is extremely

important in mathematics. English has the same concept: synonyms are words that
have the same (or nearly the same) meaning. However, this ‘same object, different
name’ idea plays a much more fundamental role in mathematics than in English.

Guided Exercises
1. Give several synonyms for the English word ‘happy’.
Answer: blissful, delighted, buoyant, cheerful, jocund, mirthful, gay

2. The number ‘six’ has lots of different names. Give names satisfying the
following properties. There may be more than one correct answer.
answer
a) the ‘standard’ name 6
b) a name using a plus sign, + 5+1
c) a name using a minus sign, - 8–2
d) a name using a division sign, ÷ 12÷2

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Ideas regarding sentences

1. Sentences have verbs.
Just as English sentences have verbs, so do mathematical sentences.
In the mathematical sentence “3 + 4 = 7 “, the verb is “ = “. If you read the
sentence as ‘three plus four is equal to seven’, then it’s easy to ‘hear’ the
verb. Indeed, the equal sign “= “is one of the most popular mathematical
verbs.

2. Truth of Sentences
Sentences can be true or false. The notion of truth (i.e., the property
of being true or false) is of fundamental importance in the mathematical
language.

Conventions in the Mathematical Language

Languages have conventions. In English, for example, it is conventional to
capitalize proper names (like ‘Juan’ and ‘Mandaluyong’). This convention makes it
easy for a reader to distinguish between a common noun (like ‘teacher’, a Christmas
song) and a proper noun (like ‘Ms. Reyes’). Mathematics also has its conventions,
which help readers distinguish between different types of mathematical
expressions.

There are two things to consider to understand the meaning of mathematical

symbols
1. Context that refers to a particular topic being studied and it is important to
understand the context to understand mathematical symbols.

Example: different meaning of “is”:

• 2 is a square root of 4.
• 2 is less than 5.
• 2 is a prime number.

2. Convention is a technique used by mathematicians, engineers, scientists in

which each particular symbol has particular meaning.

Examples: position of numbers and symbols; subscripts and superscripts;

Greek and Latin Letters

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D. Four Basic Concepts

1. Sets
A set is a well-defined collection of objects called elements or members of
the set. Class, collection and family are words that are synonymous to sets.
Capital letters are usually used to denote a set and lowercase letter are used to
denote the elements of the set.

Example: A = {a, e, i, o u}

The statement that an element a belongs to a set s is written as

𝑎∈𝑆
Example: 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴, 𝑥 ∉ 𝐴

We also write 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝑆 when both a and b belong to S. Suppose every

element of a set A also belongs to a set B, that is, suppose 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴 implies 𝑎 ∈ 𝐵, then
A is called a subset of B, or A is said to be contained in B, which is written as 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵.

Example: 𝐵 = {𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑡}

Then 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵.

Two sets are equal if they both have exactly the same elements, or
equivalently, if each is contained in the other. That is

𝐴 = 𝐵 𝑖𝑓𝑓𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 𝑜𝑟 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴.

Example: 𝐼𝑓 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3}𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = {3, 2, 1}, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴 = 𝐵.

The negations of 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴, 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 = 𝐵 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 ∉ 𝐴, 𝐴 ⊈

𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 ≠ 𝐵, 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦.

It is common practice in mathematics to put a vertical line or slanted line

through a symbol to indicate the opposite or negative meaning of the symbol.

The statement 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 does not exclude the possibility that = 𝐵 . In fact, for
any set A, we have since, trivially, every element in A belongs to B. However, if 𝐴 ⊆
𝐶 and 𝐴 ≠ 𝐵, then we say that A is a proper subset of B (sometimes written as 𝐴 ⊂
𝐵).
Suppose every element of a set A belongs to a set B, and every element of B
belongs to a set C. Then clearly every element of A belongs to C. In other words, if
𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 and 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐶 , then 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐶.

Specifying Sets
1. roster/tabular method – obtained by simply listing or enumerating the
elements of a set, enclosed by braces and separated by a comma

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example: 𝐴 = {2, 4, 6 ,8}

2. rule/descriptive method – obtained by describing the set with a general rule

and usually represented by a set builder notation
example: 𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟, 𝑥 > 0}

Kinds of Sets
1. empty/null/void set is a set without any element denoted by { } or ∅ and is
regarded as a subset of every other set.
2. finite set is a set with countable number of elements
3. infinite set is a set with uncountable number of elements and often
characterized by ellipses.
4. Universal set is some large fixed set also known as universe of discourse
denoted by U.
5. Disjoint sets are sets with no elements in common otherwise, they are called joint
sets.
6. Equivalent sets are two or more sets with the same cardinal number.
*Cardinal number refers to the number of elements in a set denoted by n.
Example:
Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8}
C = {1, 2, 3, 4}

U, A, B, and C are finite sets.

A and B are disjoint.
A and C are joint sets.
B and C are equivalent and joint at the same time.

Set Operations
1. Union
The union of two sets A and B, denoted by A⋃B, is the set of all elements
which belong to A or B or both.
2. Intersection

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The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A∩B, is the set of all
elements which belong to both A and B.
Properties of Union and Intersection
i) Every element x in A∩B belongs to both A and B. Thus, A∩B is a subset of A and of
B; hence, x belongs to A and x belongs to B, that is A∩B ⊂A and A∩B⊂ B
ii) An element x belongs to the union A⋃B if x belongs to A or x belongs to B; hence,
every element in A belongs to A⋃B, and every element in B belongs to A⋃B. That is,
A⊂ A⋃B and B ⊂A⋃B
All sets under consideration at a particular time are subsets of a fixed universal set
U.
3. Set Complement
The absolute complement or, simply complement of Set AC , is the set of elements
which belong to U but which do not belong to A, that is, = {x: x∈U, x∉A}
4. Difference of Sets
The difference of two sets, A – B, is a set whose elements belong to A but not to B.
Examples:
Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8}
C = {1, 2, 3, 4}

1. A⋃B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} or U 8. B – A = B
2. A⋃C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9} 9. A⋃AC = U
3. A∩B = { } 10. A∩AC = { }
4. A∩C = {1, 3} 11. A⋃U = U
5. AC = {2, 4, 6, 8} or B 12. A∩U = A
6. CC = {5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
7. A – B = A

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Laws of the Algebra of Sets

Sets satisfy the laws of the algebra of sets.

Finite and Countable Sets

Sets can be finite or infinite. A set S is finite if S is empty or if S consists of
exactly m elements where m is a positive integer; otherwise, S is infinite.
Counting Elements in Finite Sets
The notation n(S) or |S| will denote the number of elements in a set S. Thus,
n(A)=26 where A consists of the letters in the English alphabet, and n(D)=7 where D
consists of the days of the week. Also, n(Ø)=0, since the empty set has no elements.

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Suppose A and B are finite disjoint sets. Then A⋃B is finite and n(A⋃B) =
n(A) + n(B) that can be restated as follows: Suppose S is the disjoint union of finite
sets A and B. Then S is finite and n(S) = n(A) + n(B)
Examples:
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8}
n(A⋃B) = n(A) + n(B) = 5 + 4 = 9

Suppose A is a subset of a finite universal set U. Then 𝑛(𝐴)𝐶 = 𝑛(𝑈) − 𝑛(𝐴)

Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8}
C = {1, 2, 3, 4}

1. 𝑛(𝐴)𝐶 = 𝑛(𝑈) − 𝑛(𝐴) = 9 − 5 = 4 AC = {2, 4, 6, 8}; n = 4

2. 𝑛(𝐵)𝐶 = 𝑛(𝑈) − 𝑛(𝐵) = 9 − 4 = 5 BC = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}; n = 5
3. 𝑛(𝐶)𝐶 = 𝑛(𝑈) − 𝑛(𝐶) = 9 − 4 = 5 CC = {5, 6, 7, 8, 9}; n = 5

Suppose A and B are finite joint sets.

Then A∩B and A⋃B are finite and n(A⋃B) = n(A) +n(B) – n(A∩B)
Example:
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8}
C = {1, 2, 3, 4}
1. n(A⋃C) = n(A) +n(C) – n(A∩C) = 5 + 4 – 2 = 7 n(A⋃C) = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9}; n = 7
2. n(B⋃C) = n(B) +n(C) – n(B∩C) = 4 + 4 – 2 = 6 n(B⋃C) = {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8}; n = 6

Venn Diagrams
A Venn diagram is a pictorial representation of sets where sets are represented by
enclosed areas in the plane. The universal set U is represented by the points in a
rectangle, and the other sets are represented by disks lying within the rectangle.

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Examples
Union

Intersection

Classes of Sets
Given a set S, we may wish to talk about some of its subsets. Thus, we would be
considering a “set of sets”. Whenever such a situation arises, we use the terms class
of sets or a collection of sets. Or a” subcollection” that has meanings analogous to
subset.
Example Let S = {1, 2, 3, 4}
Find
1) A, the class of subsets of S which contains exactly 3 elements of S

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Answer: A = {(1,2,3), (1,2,4), (1,3,4), (2,3,4)}

2) B, the class of subsets of S which contains the numeral 2 and two other elements
of S
Answer: B = {{2,1,3), (2,1,4), (2,3,4)}
Power Sets
For any given set S, we may consider the class of all subsets of S. This class is called
the power set of S, denoted by P(S). If S is finite, then so is P(S). In fact, the number
of elements in P(S) is 2 raised to the power of S; that is n(P(S)) = 2n(S) or 2S

Example:
1. Suppose S = {1, 2, 3}. Find the power set of S.

Solution: n(P(S)) = 2n(S)= 23 = 8

P(S) = {(1), (2), (3), (1, 2), (1, 3), (2, 3), (1, 2, 3), ({ })}

2. Suppose S = {h, o, p, e}. Find the power set of S.

Solution: n(P(S)) = 2n(S)= 24 = 16

P(S) = {(h), (o), (p), (e), (h, o), (h, p), (h, e), (o, p), (o, e), (p, e), (h, o, p), (h, o, e), (h, p,
e), (o, p, e), (h, o, p, e), ({ })}

2. Relations
A relation is a rule that relates values from a set of values (called the domain
or x-values) to a second set of values (called the range or y-values).
The elements of the domain can be imagined as input to a machine that
applies a rule to these inputs to generate one or more outputs.
A relation is also a set of ordered pairs (x, y).

Examples:
1. (-2, -3), (-1, -2), (0, -1), (1, 0)
2. (8, 1), (8, 2), (8, 4), (8, 8)
3. (-1, 0), (0, -1), (1, 0), (2, 3)
4. (6, 2), (6, 3), (4, 2), (4, 1)

Kinds of Relations
1. One-to-one
2. One-to-many
3. Many-to-one
4. Many-to-many

Relations can be represented through ordered pairs, table of values, mapping

diagrams and graphs.

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Relation Symbols

Relation symbols behave like adjectives that refers to a property rather than an
object.

Statement of relationship

Example: 2 is less than 5

Example: “Equals” and “is an element of” are two other examples of relations

SOURCE:
file:///C:/Users/rtearnhart/Desktop/MMW%20Training/Course%20Material%205.%2
0grammar.pdf

3. Functions

A function is a relation where each element in the domain is related to only one
value in the range by some rule. It is a set of ordered pairs (x, y) such that no two
ordered pairs have the same x – value but different y – values. Thus, only one-to-one
and one-to-many relations exist as functions.

Guided exercises
Use the definition above to determine which of the given relations are functions.

1. f = {(0, 1), (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4)}

answer: function because all the domains are unique
2. g = {(-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 4)}
answer: function because all the domains are unique
3. h = {(1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 5), (2, 6)}
answer: not a function because the ordered pairs (1, 3) and (1, 4) have the
same domain

Evaluating Functions

To evaluate a function is to replace the variable in the function, such as x, with a

value from the function’s domain and calculate the result and is denoted by f(x) for
some value of x in the domain of f.

Guided examples

1. Given 𝑓(𝑥 − 3), find the following values:

a. 𝑓(−1)
Solution:
f(-1) = (-1) – 3 =-4

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b. 𝑓(0)
Solution: f(0) = 0 – 3 = -3

c. 𝑓(𝑥 − 1)
Solution: f(x – 1) = x – 1 – 3 =x – 4

d. f(𝑥 2 )
Solution: f(𝑥 2 ) = 𝑥 2 − 3

2. Given the function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 + 2, find

𝑎. 𝑓(−1)
Solution:
𝑓(−1) = (−1)2 − 2(−1) + 2 = 1 + 2 + 2 = 5

𝑏. 𝑓(0)
Solution:
𝑓(0) = 02 − 2(0) + 2 = 2

𝑐. 𝑓(𝑥 − 1)
Solution:
𝑓(𝑥 − 1) = (𝑥 − 1)2 − 2(𝑥 − 1) + 2
= (x – 1)(x – 1) – 2x + 2 + 2
= 𝑥 2 − 𝑥 − 𝑥 + 1 − 2𝑥 + 2
= 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 − 2𝑥 + 3
= 𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 + 3

d. f(𝑥 2 )
Solution:
𝑓(𝑥 2 ) = (𝑥 2 )2 − 2(𝑥 2 ) + 2
= 𝑥 4 − 4𝑥 2 + 2

Operations on Functions

To perform operations on functions, the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying

and dividing algebraic expressions as well as fractions are utilized.

Adding, subtracting and multiplying two or more functions together will result in
another function while dividing functions will result in another function if the
denominator is not a zero function.

Definition
Let f and g be functions

1. Sum function, f + g

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(f + g)(x) = f(x) + g(x)

2. Difference function, f – g
(f – g)(x) = f(x) – g(x)

3. Product Function
(f • g)(x) = f(x) • g(x)

4. Quotient Function, f/x

𝑓 𝑓(𝑥)
(𝑥) = , 𝑔(𝑥) ≠ 0
𝑔 𝑔(𝑥)

5. Composite functions, 𝑓 ∘ 𝑔
(𝑓 ∘ 𝑔)(𝑥) = 𝑓(𝑔(𝑥))

*A composite function is a function within a function. The process of obtaining a

composite function is called composition function.

Guided Exercises

1. Given: 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 3, 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 2

Find:
a. (𝑓 + 𝑔)(𝑥)
Solution:
= (𝑥 + 3) + 𝑥 2
= 𝑥 + 3 + 𝑥 2 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 + 3

b. (𝑓 − 𝑔)(𝑥)
Solution:
= (𝑥 + 3) − 𝑥 2
= 𝑥 + 3 − 𝑥 2 𝑜𝑟 − 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 + 3

c. (𝑓 • 𝑔)(𝑥)
= (𝑥 + 3)(𝑥 2 )
= 𝑥 3 + 3𝑥 2

d. (𝑔 ÷ 𝑓)(𝑥)
𝑔(𝑥) 𝑥2
=
𝑓(𝑥) 𝑥 + 3

e. (𝑓 ∘ 𝑔)(𝑥)
𝑓(𝑔(𝑥)) = 𝑓(𝑥 2 )
= (𝑥 2 + 3) + 3
= 𝑥2 + 6

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2. Given: 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 2 − 4 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 2

Find:
𝑎. (𝑓 + 𝑔)(𝑥)

Solution:
= (𝑥 2 − 4) + (𝑥 + 2)
= 𝑥2 + 𝑥 − 2

𝑏. (𝑓 − 𝑔)(𝑥)
Solution:
= (𝑥 2 − 4) − (𝑥 + 2)
= 𝑥2 − 4 − 𝑥 − 2
= 𝑥2 − 𝑥 − 6

𝑐. (𝑓 • 𝑔)(𝑥)
= (𝑥 2 − 4)(𝑥 + 2)
= 𝑥 3 + 2𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 − 8

𝑑. (𝑓 ÷ 𝑔)(𝑥)
𝑓(𝑥) 𝑥 2 − 4 (𝑥 − 2)(𝑥 + 2)
= = =𝑥−2
𝑔(𝑥) 𝑥+2 (𝑥 + 2)

𝑒. (𝑓 ∘ 𝑔)(𝑥)
𝑓(𝑔(𝑥)) = 𝑓(𝑥 + 2)
= ((𝑥 + 2)2 − 4)
= (𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 2) − 4
= 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + 4 − 4
= 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥

4. Binary Operations

Binary literally means consisting of two parts. Mathematically speaking,

binary numbers belong to a system of numbers called binary system that uses the
base 2. Thus, binary numbers are numbers made up of only 0’s and 1’s that has many
applications in the digital world especially in programming.
A single binary digit is known as a bit so that the binary number 11001 has 5
bits. A binary number is written with a subscript 2 to distinguish it from a decimal
number – the one we are familiar with that uses 10 as a base.

Powers of 2
20 = 1
21 = 2
22 = 4
23 = 8
24 = 16
25 = 32
26 = 64

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.
.
.
.
2𝑛

Binary Numbers to Decimal

To convert a binary number to its decimal equivalent, use the powers of 2 and its
multiplicative inverse for binary numbers containing a decimal part.

Guided Exercises
Convert the following to decimal number.

1. 1001
Solution: 1 0 0 1 = 8 + 0(4) + 0(2) + 1 = 8 + 1 = 9
23 22 21 20

2. 1101.01
Solution: 1 1 0 1 . 0 1
1 1
= 23 22 21 20 . 0 (2) 1 (4)
= 8 + 4 + 0 + 1 . 0 + 0.25
= 13.25

For the decimal part, use the negative powers of two converted to their fractional
and decimal equivalents such as:

1
2−1 = = 0.5
2
1
2−2 = = 0.25
4
1
2−3 = = 0.125
8
1
2−4 = = 0.0625
16
.
.
.
1
2−𝑛 =
2𝑛

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Decimal to Binary Numbers

To convert decimal numbers to their binary equivalent, use division by the base of
the binary numbers that is 2 and for the decimal part, use multiplication by the base
2.

Guided Exercises

Convert the following decimal numbers.

1. 143
2. 25.21875
3. 15.25

Solution:
1. 143/2 = 71 r. 1
71/2 = 35 r. 1
35/2 = 17 r. 1
17/2 = 8 r. 1
8/2 = 4 r. 0
4/2 = 2 r. 0
2/2 = 1 r. 0
The quotient in the last division process which is 1 is also the last remainder. Write
the final answer from bottom to top. So, the final answer is 10001111.

2. 25.21875
Solution: decimal part
25/2 = 12 r. 1 .21875 x 2 = 0.4375 r=0
12/2 = 6 r. 0 .4375 x 2 = 0.875 r=0
6/2 = 3 r.0 .875 x 2 = 1.75 r=1
3/2 = 1 r. 1 .75 x 2 = 1.5 r=1
.5 x 2 = 1.0 r=0

25.21875 = 11001.00110
*NOTE: The decimal part is written from top to bottom.

A rule for combining two values to produce a new value is called binary
operation. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on various sets of
numbers are fundamental operations where binary operations can be applied.

Binary Operations act like a conjunction that sits between two objects (nouns).

Example: “two plus four”

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Some familiar examples of binary operations are “plus”, “minus”, “times”, “divided
by” and “raised to the”.

SOURCE:
file:///C:/Users/rtearnhart/Desktop/MMW%20Training/Course%20Material%205.%2
0grammar.pdf

E. Elementary Logic

Logic is the science of correct reasoning according to lawyers and judges.

These professionals often use logic to communicate more effectively, construct
valid arguments, analyze legal contracts, and make decisions. Many other
professions also make use of extensive logic. Programmers for instance use logic to
design computer software, electrical engineers use logic to design circuits for smart
phones, and mathematicians use logic to solve problems and construct
mathematical proofs.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) was one of the first mathematicians

to make a serious study of symbolic logic. He tried to advance the study of logic to a
formal mathematical subject but he never completely achieved this goal. Several
mathematicians, such as Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871) and George Boole
(1815–1864), contributed to the advancement of symbolic logic as a mathematical
discipline. The Mathematical Analysis of Logic was the title of the book published by
Boole in 1848. In 1854 he published another more extensive work entitled An
Investigation of the Laws of Thought. Concerning this document, the mathematician
Bertrand Russell stated, “Pure mathematics was discovered by Boole in a work
which is called The Laws of Thought.”

Symbolic Logic

Symbolic logic studies relationships of natural language by using symbols. Main

ingredients are statements and connectives.

Sentences

A statement is an assertion of something that can be either true or false.

Examples:
1. Today is Monday.
2. Tomorrow is a Tuesday.
3. I did not bring an umbrella.

Not sentences:
How’s the weather? (questions)
Cool! (interjections)

Simple Statements

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Simple statements do not contain other statements as their parts. We typically

represent simple statements using letters P, Q, R, ...; for example
S: Your dress is beautiful;
C: I like its color.

Connectives
Connectives join simple statements into more complex statements, called
compound statements.
The most common connectives and their symbols are:
and/but ∧;
or ∨;
if ...,then →.
Example:
Your dress is beautiful and I like its color.
S∧C

NOTE: Logic will be discussed extensively in Chapter 5.

G. Formality

Formality is a relational concept. An expression can be more or less formal

relative to another expression, involving an ordering of expressions. But it is said
that no expression is absolutely formal or absolutely informal and all linguistic
expressions lie somewhere in the middle of absolute formality and absolute
informality.

An expression is said to be completely formal when it is context independent,

definite and precise. It represents a clear distinction that is undeviating
regardless of context.

Generalizations:
1. Mathematics is a language in itself. Hence, it is useful in communicating
important ideas.
2. Mathematics as a language is clear and objective.
3. Language conventions are necessary in mathematics for it to be understood
by all.

Assessments

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References

Mathematics in the Modern World by J. L. Reyes et al. PANDAY-LAHI Publishing

House, Inc. Muntinlupa City. 2018

CHED in collaboration with PNU. Teaching Guide for Senior High School General
Mathematics Core Subject. C.P. Garcia Ave., Diliman, Quezon City. 2016.

Mathematical Excursions Third Edition by R. N. Aufman, J. S. Lockwood, R. D. Nation

& D. K. Clegg. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Belmont, CA USA. 2013

E. M. Adina & R. T. Earnhart. Mathematics in the Modern World Second Generation

Training. Mapua Institute of Technology. 2017

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