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Algebra symbols


Symbol
Symbol Name
Meaning / definition
Example
x
x variable
unknown value to find
when 2x = 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 |
single vertical bar
absolute value
| -5 | = 5
(x)
function of x
maps values of x to f(x)
(x) = 3x+5
(f  g)
function composition
(f  g) (x) = (g(x))
(x)=3x,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- t0
discriminant
Δ = b2 - 4ac

Sigma
summation - sum of all values in range of series
 xi= x1+x2+...+xn
∑∑
Sigma
double summation

capital pi
product - product of all values in range of series
 xi=x1∙x2∙...∙xn
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 = πd = 2πr

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