Cracking the Code: Unveiling the World of Mathematical Symbols.
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
= | equals sign | equality | 5 = 2+3 5 is equal to 2+3 |
≠ | not equal sign | inequality | 5 ≠ 4 5 is not equal to 4 |
≈ | approximately equal | approximation |
sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01, x ≈ y means x is approximately equal to y |
> | strict inequality | greater than | 5 > 4 5 is greater than 4 |
< | strict inequality | less than | 4 < 5 4 is less than 5 |
≥ | inequality | greater than or equal to | 5 ≥ 4, x ≥ y means x is greater than or equal to y |
≤ | inequality | less than or equal to | 4 ≤ 5, x ≤ y means x is less than or equal to y |
( ) | parentheses | calculate expression inside first | 2 × (3+5) = 16 |
[ ] | brackets | calculate expression inside first | [(1+2)×(1+5)] = 18 |
+ | plus sign | addition | 1 + 1 = 2 |
− | minus sign | subtraction | 2 − 1 = 1 |
± | plus - minus | both plus and minus operations | 3 ± 5 = 8 or -2 |
± | minus - plus | both minus and plus operations | 3 ∓ 5 = -2 or 8 |
* | asterisk | multiplication | 2 * 3 = 6 |
× | times sign | multiplication | 2 × 3 = 6 |
⋅ | multiplication dot | multiplication | 2 ⋅ 3 = 6 |
÷ | division sign / obelus | division | 6 ÷ 2 = 3 |
/ | division slash | division | 6 / 2 = 3 |
— | horizontal line | division / fraction | |
mod | modulo | remainder calculation | 7 mod 2 = 1 |
. | period | decimal point, decimal separator | 2.56 = 2+56/100 |
a b | power | exponent | 2 3 = 8 |
a^b | caret | exponent | 2 ^ 3 = 8 |
√ a | square root |
√ a ⋅ √ a = a |
√ 9 = ±3 |
3 √ a | cube root | 3 √ a ⋅ 3 √ a ⋅ 3 √ a = a | 3 √ 8 = 2 |
4 √ a | fourth root | 4 √ a ⋅ 4 √ a ⋅ 4 √ a ⋅ 4 √ a = a | 4 √ 16 = ±2 |
n √ a | n-th root (radical) | for n=3, n √ 8 = 2 | |
% | percent | 1% = 1/100 | 10% × 30 = 3 |
‰ | per-mille | 1‰ = 1/1000 = 0.1% | 10‰ × 30 = 0.3 |
ppm | per-million | 1ppm = 1/1000000 | 10ppm × 30 = 0.0003 |
ppb | per-billion | 1ppb = 1/1000000000 | 10ppb × 30 = 3×10 -7 |
ppt | per-trillion | 1ppt = 10 -12 | 10ppt × 30 = 3×10 -10 |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
∠ | angle | formed by two rays | ∠ABC = 30° |
measured angle | ABC = 30° | ||
spherical angle | AOB = 30° | ||
∟ | right angle | = 90° | α = 90° |
° | degree | 1 turn = 360° | α = 60° |
deg | degree | 1 turn = 360deg | α = 60deg |
′ | prime | arcminute, 1° = 60′ | α = 60°59′ |
″ | double prime | arcsecond, 1′ = 60″ | α = 60°59′59″ |
line | infinite line | ||
AB | line segment | line from point A to point B | |
ray | line that start from point A | ||
arc | arc from point A to point B | = 60° | |
⊥ | perpendicular | perpendicular lines (90° angle) | AC ⊥ BC |
∥ | parallel | parallel lines | AB ∥ CD |
≅ | congruent to | equivalence of geometric shapes and size | ∆ABC≅ ∆XYZ |
~ | similarity | same shapes, not same size | ∆ABC~ ∆XYZ |
Δ | triangle | triangle shape | ΔABC≅ ΔBCD |
| x- y| | distance | distance between points x and y | | x- y | = 5 |
π | pi constant |
π = 3.141592654... is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle |
c = π⋅ d = 2⋅ π⋅ r |
rad | radians | radians angle unit | 360° = 2π rad |
c | radians | radians angle unit | 360° = 2π c |
grad | gradians / gons | grads angle unit | 360° = 400 grad |
g | gradians / gons | grads angle unit | 360° = 400 g |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
x | x variable | unknown value to find | when 2 x = 4, then x = 2 |
≡ | equivalence | identical to | |
≜ | equal by definition | equal by definition | |
:= | equal by definition | equal by definition | |
~ | approximately equal | weak approximation | 11 ~ 10 |
≈ | approximately equal | approximation | sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01 |
∝ | proportional to | proportional to |
y ∝ x when y = kx, k constant |
∞ | lemniscate | infinity symbol | |
≪ | much less than | much less than | 1 ≪ 1000000 |
≫ | much greater than | much greater than | 1000000 ≫ 1 |
( ) | parentheses | calculate expression inside first | 2 * (3+5) = 16 |
[ ] | brackets | calculate expression inside first | [(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18 |
{ } | braces | set | |
⌊ x⌋ | floor brackets | rounds number to lower integer | ⌊4.3⌋ = 4 |
⌈ x⌉ | ceiling brackets | rounds number to upper integer | ⌈4.3⌉ = 5 |
x! | exclamation mark | factorial | 4! = 1*2*3*4 = 24 |
| x | | vertical bars | absolute value | | -5 | = 5 |
f ( x) | function of x | maps values of x to f(x) | f ( x) = 3 x+5 |
( f ∘ g) | function composition | ( f ∘ g) ( x) = f ( g( x)) | f ( x)=3 x, g( x)= x-1 ⇒( f ∘ g)( x)=3( x-1) |
( a, b) | open interval | ( a, b) = { x | a < x < b} | x∈ (2,6) |
[ a, b] | closed interval | [ a, b] = { x | a ≤ x ≤ b} | x ∈ [2,6] |
∆ | delta | change / difference | ∆ t = t 1 - t 0 |
∆ | discriminant | Δ = b 2 - 4 ac | |
∑ | sigma | summation - sum of all values in range of series | ∑ x i= x 1 +x 2 +...+x n |
∑∑ | sigma | double summation | |
∏ | capital pi | product - product of all values in range of series | ∏ x i=x 1 ∙x 2 ∙...∙x n |
e | e constant / Euler's number | e = 2.718281828... | e = lim (1+1/ x) x , x→∞ |
γ | Euler-Mascheroni constant | γ = 0.5772156649... | |
φ | golden ratio | golden ratio constant | |
π | pi constant |
π = 3.141592654... is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle |
c = π⋅ d = 2⋅ π⋅ r |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
· | dot | scalar product | a · b |
× | cross | vector product | a × b |
A⊗ B | tensor product | tensor product of A and B | A ⊗ B |
inner product | |||
[ ] | brackets | matrix of numbers | |
( ) | parentheses | matrix of numbers | |
| A | | determinant | determinant of matrix A | |
det( A) | determinant | determinant of matrix A | |
|| x || | double vertical bars | norm | |
A T | transpose | matrix transpose | ( A T) ij = ( A) ji |
A † | Hermitian matrix | matrix conjugate transpose | ( A †) ij = ( A ) ji |
A * | Hermitian matrix | matrix conjugate transpose | ( A *) ij = ( A ) ji |
A -1 | inverse matrix | A A -1 = I | |
rank( A) | matrix rank | rank of matrix A | rank( A) = 3 |
dim( U) | dimension | dimension of matrix A | dim( U) = 3 |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
P( A) | probability function | probability of event A | P( A) = 0.5 |
P( A ⋂ B) | probability of events intersection | probability that of events A and B | P( A⋂ B) = 0.5 |
P( A ⋃ B) | probability of events union | probability that of events A or B | P( A⋃ B) = 0.5 |
P( A | B) | conditional probability function | probability of event A given event B occured | P( A | B) = 0.3 |
f ( x) | probability density function (pdf) | P( a ≤ x ≤ b) = ∫ f ( x) dx | |
F( x) | cumulative distribution function (cdf) | F( x) = P( X≤ x) | |
μ | population mean | mean of population values | μ = 10 |
E( X) | expectation value | expected value of random variable X | E( X) = 10 |
E( X | Y) | conditional expectation | expected value of random variable X given Y | E( X | Y=2) = 5 |
var( X) | variance | variance of random variable X | var( X) = 4 |
σ 2 | variance | variance of population values | σ 2 = 4 |
std( X) | standard deviation | standard deviation of random variable X | std( X) = 2 |
σ X | standard deviation | standard deviation value of random variable X | σ X = 2 |
median | middle value of random variable x | ||
cov( X, Y) | covariance | covariance of random variables X and Y | cov( X,Y) = 4 |
corr( X, Y) | correlation | correlation of random variables X and Y | corr( X,Y) = 0.6 |
ρ X , Y | correlation | correlation of random variables X and Y | ρ X , Y = 0.6 |
∑ | summation | summation - sum of all values in range of series | |
∑∑ | double summation | double summation | |
Mo | mode | value that occurs most frequently in population | |
MR | mid-range | MR = ( x max + x min )/2 | |
Md | sample median | half the population is below this value | |
Q 1 | lower / first quartile | 25% of population are below this value | |
Q 2 | median / second quartile | 50% of population are below this value = median of samples | |
Q 3 | upper / third quartile | 75% of population are below this value | |
x | sample mean | average / arithmetic mean | x = (2+5+9) / 3 = 5.333 |
s 2 | sample variance | population samples variance estimator | s 2 = 4 |
s | sample standard deviation | population samples standard deviation estimator | s = 2 |
z x | standard score | z x = ( x- x) / s x | |
X ~ | distribution of X | distribution of random variable X | X ~ N(0,3) |
N( μ, σ 2 ) | normal distribution | gaussian distribution | X ~ N(0,3) |
U( a, b) | uniform distribution | equal probability in range a,b | X ~ U(0,3) |
exp(λ) | exponential distribution | f ( x) = λe - λx , x≥0 | |
gamma( c, λ) | gamma distribution | f ( x) = λ c x c-1 e - λx / Γ( c), x≥0 | |
χ 2 ( k) | chi-square distribution | f ( x) = x k /2-1 e - x/2 / ( 2 k/2 Γ( k/2) ) | |
F ( k 1 , k 2 ) | F distribution | ||
Bin( n, p) | binomial distribution | f ( k) = nC k p k (1 -p) n-k | |
Poisson(λ) | Poisson distribution | f ( k) = λ ke - λ / k! | |
Geom( p) | geometric distribution | f ( k) = p(1 -p) k | |
HG( N, K, n) | hyper-geometric distribution | ||
Bern( p) | Bernoulli distribution |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
n! | factorial | n! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅...⋅ n | 5! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅4⋅5 = 120 |
nP k | permutation | 5 P 3 = 5! / (5-3)! = 60 | |
nC k
|
combination | 5 C 3 = 5!/[3!(5-3)!]=10 |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
{ } | set | a collection of elements | A = {3,7,9,14}, B = {9,14,28} |
A ∩ B | intersection | objects that belong to set A and set B | A ∩ B = {9,14} |
A ∪ B | union | objects that belong to set A or set B | A ∪ B = {3,7,9,14,28} |
A ⊆ B | subset | A is a subset of B. set A is included in set B. | {9,14,28} ⊆ {9,14,28} |
A ⊂ B | proper subset / strict subset | A is a subset of B, but A is not equal to B. | {9,14} ⊂ {9,14,28} |
A ⊄ B | not subset | set A is not a subset of set B | {9,66} ⊄ {9,14,28} |
A ⊇ B | superset | A is a superset of B. set A includes set B | {9,14,28} ⊇ {9,14,28} |
A ⊃ B | proper superset / strict superset | A is a superset of B, but B is not equal to A. | {9,14,28} ⊃ {9,14} |
A ⊅ B | not superset | set A is not a superset of set B | {9,14,28} ⊅ {9,66} |
2 A | power set | all subsets of A | |
power set | all subsets of A | ||
A = B | equality | both sets have the same members | A={3,9,14}, B={3,9,14}, A=B |
A c | complement | all the objects that do not belong to set A | |
A \ B | relative complement | objects that belong to A and not to B | A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A-B = {9,14} |
A - B | relative complement | objects that belong to A and not to B | A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A-B = {9,14} |
A ∆ B | symmetric difference | objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection | A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A ∆ B = {1,2,9,14} |
A ⊖ B | symmetric difference | objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection | A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A ⊖ B = {1,2,9,14} |
a∈A | element of, belongs to |
set membership | A={3,9,14}, 3 ∈ A |
x∉A | not element of | no set membership | A={3,9,14}, 1 ∉ A |
( a, b) | ordered pair | collection of 2 elements | |
A×B | cartesian product | set of all ordered pairs from A and B | A×B = {( a, b)| a∈A , b∈B} |
|A| | cardinality | the number of elements of set A | A={3,9,14}, |A|=3 |
#A | cardinality | the number of elements of set A | A={3,9,14}, #A=3 |
| | vertical bar | such that | A={x|3<x<14} |
aleph-null | infinite cardinality of natural numbers set | ||
aleph-one | cardinality of countable ordinal numbers set | ||
Ø | empty set | Ø = { } | C = {Ø} |
universal set | set of all possible values | ||
0 | natural numbers / whole numbers set (with zero) | 0 = {0,1,2,3,4,...} | 0 ∈ 0 |
1 | natural numbers / whole numbers set (without zero) | 1 = {1,2,3,4,5,...} | 6 ∈ 1 |
integer numbers set | = {...-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,...} | -6 ∈ | |
rational numbers set | = { x | x= a/ b, a, b∈ } | 2/6 ∈ | |
real numbers set | = { x | -∞ < x <∞} | 6.343434∈ | |
complex numbers set | = { z | z=a+ bi, -∞< a<∞, -∞< b<∞} | 6+2 i ∈ |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
⋅ | and | and | x ⋅ y |
^ | caret / circumflex | and | x ^ y |
& | ampersand | and | x & y |
+ | plus | or | x + y |
∨ | reversed caret | or | x ∨ y |
| | vertical line | or | x | y |
x' | single quote | not - negation | x' |
x | bar | not - negation | x |
¬ | not | not - negation | ¬ x |
! | exclamation mark | not - negation | ! x |
⊕ | circled plus / oplus | exclusive or - xor | x ⊕ y |
~ | tilde | negation | ~ x |
⇒ | implies | ||
⇔ | equivalent | if and only if (iff) | |
↔ | equivalent | if and only if (iff) | |
∀ | for all | ||
∃ | there exists | ||
∄ | there does not exists | ||
∴ | therefore | ||
∵ | because / since |
Symbol | Symbol Name | Meaning / definition | Example |
---|---|---|---|
limit | limit value of a function | ||
ε | epsilon | represents a very small number, near zero | ε → 0 |
e | e constant / Euler's number | e = 2.718281828... | e = lim (1+1/ x) x , x→∞ |
y ' | derivative | derivative - Lagrange's notation | (3 x 3)' = 9 x 2 |
y '' | second derivative | derivative of derivative | (3 x 3)'' = 18 x |
y ( n) | nth derivative | n times derivation | (3 x 3) (3) = 18 |
derivative | derivative - Leibniz's notation | d(3 x 3)/ dx = 9 x 2 | |
second derivative | derivative of derivative | d 2(3 x 3)/ dx 2 = 18 x | |
nth derivative | n times derivation | ||
time derivative | derivative by time - Newton's notation | ||
time second derivative | derivative of derivative | ||
D x y | derivative | derivative - Euler's notation | |
D x 2 y | second derivative | derivative of derivative | |
partial derivative | ∂( x 2+ y 2)/∂ x = 2 x | ||
∫ | integral | opposite to derivation | ∫ f(x)dx |
∫∫ | double integral | integration of function of 2 variables | ∫∫ f(x,y)dxdy |
∫∫∫ | triple integral | integration of function of 3 variables | ∫∫∫ f(x,y,z)dxdydz |
∮ | closed contour / line integral | ||
∯ | closed surface integral | ||
∰ | closed volume integral | ||
[ a, b] | closed interval | [ a, b] = { x | a ≤ x ≤ b} | |
( a, b) | open interval | ( a, b) = { x | a < x < b} | |
i | imaginary unit | i ≡ √ -1 | z = 3 + 2 i |
z* | complex conjugate | z = a+ bi → z*= a- bi | z* = 3 - 2 i |
z | complex conjugate | z = a+ bi → z = a- bi | z = 3 - 2 i |
Re( z) | real part of a complex number | z = a+ bi → Re( z)= a | Re(3 - 2 i) = 3 |
Im( z) | imaginary part of a complex number | z = a+ bi → Im( z)= b | Im(3 - 2 i) = -2 |
| z | | absolute value/magnitude of a complex number | | z| = | a+ bi| = √( a 2+ b 2) | |3 - 2 i| = √13 |
arg( z) | argument of a complex number | The angle of the radius in the complex plane | arg(3 + 2 i) = 33.7° |
∇ | nabla / del | gradient / divergence operator | ∇ f ( x, y, z) |
vector | |||
unit vector | |||
x * y | convolution | y( t) = x( t) * h( t) | |
Laplace transform | F( s) = { f ( t)} | ||
Fourier transform | X( ω) = { f ( t)} | ||
δ | delta function | ||
∞ | lemniscate | infinity symbol |
Name | Western Arabic | Roman | Eastern Arabic | Hebrew |
---|---|---|---|---|
zero | 0 | ٠ | ||
one | 1 | I | ١ | א |
two | 2 | II | ٢ | ב |
three | 3 | III | ٣ | ג |
four | 4 | IV | ٤ | ד |
five | 5 | V | ٥ | ה |
six | 6 | VI | ٦ | ו |
seven | 7 | VII | ٧ | ז |
eight | 8 | VIII | ٨ | ח |
nine | 9 | IX | ٩ | ט |
ten | 10 | X | ١٠ | י |
eleven | 11 | XI | ١١ | יא |
twelve | 12 | XII | ١٢ | יב |
thirteen | 13 | XIII | ١٣ | יג |
fourteen | 14 | XIV | ١٤ | יד |
fifteen | 15 | XV | ١٥ | טו |
sixteen | 16 | XVI | ١٦ | טז |
seventeen | 17 | XVII | ١٧ | יז |
eighteen | 18 | XVIII | ١٨ | יח |
nineteen | 19 | XIX | ١٩ | יט |
twenty | 20 | XX | ٢٠ | כ |
thirty | 30 | XXX | ٣٠ | ל |
forty | 40 | XL | ٤٠ | מ |
fifty | 50 | L | ٥٠ | נ |
sixty | 60 | LX | ٦٠ | ס |
seventy | 70 | LXX | ٧٠ | ע |
eighty | 80 | LXXX | ٨٠ | פ |
ninety | 90 | XC | ٩٠ | צ |
one hundred | 100 | C | ١٠٠ | ק |
Upper Case Letter | Lower Case Letter | Greek Letter Name | English Equivalent | Letter Name Pronounce |
---|---|---|---|---|
Α | α | Alpha | a | al-fa |
Β | β | Beta | b | be-ta |
Γ | γ | Gamma | g | ga-ma |
Δ | δ | Delta | d | del-ta |
Ε | ε | Epsilon | e | ep-si-lon |
Ζ | ζ | Zeta | z | ze-ta |
Η | η | Eta | h | eh-ta |
Θ | θ | Theta | th | te-ta |
Ι | ι | Iota | i | io-ta |
Κ | κ | Kappa | k | ka-pa |
Λ | λ | Lambda | l | lam-da |
Μ | μ | Mu | m | m-yoo |
Ν | ν | Nu | n | noo |
Ξ | ξ | Xi | x | x-ee |
Ο | ο | Omicron | o | o-mee-c-ron |
Π | π | Pi | p | pa-yee |
Ρ | ρ | Rho | r | row |
Σ | σ | Sigma | s | sig-ma |
Τ | τ | Tau | t | ta-oo |
Υ | υ | Upsilon | u | oo-psi-lon |
Φ | φ | Phi | ph | f-ee |
Χ | χ | Chi | ch | kh-ee |
Ψ | ψ | Psi | ps | p-see |
Ω | ω | Omega | o | o-me-ga |
Number | Roman numeral |
---|---|
0 | not defined |
1 | I |
2 | II |
3 | III |
4 | IV |
5 | V |
6 | VI |
7 | VII |
8 | VIII |
9 | IX |
10 | X |
11 | XI |
12 | XII |
13 | XIII |
14 | XIV |
15 | XV |
16 | XVI |
17 | XVII |
18 | XVIII |
19 | XIX |
20 | XX |
30 | XXX |
40 | XL |
50 | L |
60 | LX |
70 | LXX |
80 | LXXX |
90 | XC |
100 | C |
200 | CC |
300 | CCC |
400 | CD |
500 | D |
600 | DC |
700 | DCC |
800 | DCCC |
900 | CM |
1000 | M |
5000 | V |
10000 | X |
50000 | L |
100000 | C |
500000 | D |
1000000 | M |
The symbol '√' denotes the square root of a number. It indicates the value that, when multiplied by itself, results in the original number. For example, '√9' equals 3 because 3 multiplied by 3 is 9.