Mathematics Stack Exchange
Mathematics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [notation]

Questions on the meaning, history, and usage of mathematical symbols and notation. Please remember to mention where (book, paper, webpage, etc.) you encountered any mathematical notation you are asking about.

Before asking a question on the site, please check if you can find your answer in Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols or the book A History of Mathematical Notations.

Alternatively, a textbook or paper usually takes the time to explain the notation they're using; please remember to mention where you've seen the notation you are asking about.

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How to express this statement into logical notation?

Statement: Natural numbers that are exactly divisible by 2 are not prime. I got this: ∀n ∈ N,¬P(n)∧(n%4) where P(n) is the predicate "n is a prime number" and N is the set of natural numbers. And how would I write this using implication? Also, what…
muros
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How to express normalisation where rows sum to 1 for multiple rows?

I have a list of lists. I want to divide every value in each list by the sum of that list. What I did is: a list of lists S, where each list in S is . Each value in is . I wrote the normalisation down as: This does not seem right to me, but I…
Niek
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Use of "decrease by" in english with a real < 1

My question is about using "decrease by" without any ambiguity. I'm reading a paper where the authors consider a set $X$ defined respectively to a tree and an operation on the tree updating the tree and hence an "updated $X$". They imply the…
Laurent Lyaudet
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Can exact numbers be written in scientific notation

I've learned in scientific notation you have last number as probable. Meaning it could be anything... so in $3$ significant digit number such as follows $3.34$ has '$4$' which could be anything. Now if had exact number and I wrote in scientific…
Muhammad Umer
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Help with proper notation - how should I format my formula?

It's been a while since I've had to notate math properly and I could only get so much from googling. I've checked my math extensively but I feel like my notation and formatting is improper, any tips? The formula is a modified combination that…
Schmedley
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Notation in Silverman's Arithmetic of EC

I have a question about the notation in Silverman's Arithmetic of EC. On page 2, "Notice that the Galois group $G_{\overline{K}/K}$ acts on $\mathbb{A}^n$; for $\sigma\in G_{\overline{K}/K}$ and $P\in…
PatrickStewart
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Is there a way to represent an unknown operator?

I was wondering if there was a formal or conventional method to represent an operator that has not yet been defined. I’m not talking about unary operators– I’m talking about things like addition. (+), subtraction (-), etc. I have seen people use a…
The_Animator
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What do brackets mean in maths?

I know that brackets are used to group variables and numbers together. Do brackets serve the same purpose when they are used with other 'objects' such as matrices or vectors? For example, when brackets are used with matrices does this expression,…
Kuskuba
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dy(x)/dx Notation Question

Suppose $y$ is a function of $x$, i.e. $y=f(x)$. (just univariate) Would both of the following notations for the first derivative of $y$ (with respect to $x$) be correct and usable? $\dfrac{dy}{dx}$ $\dfrac{dy(x)}{dx}$ The second one is just to…
Curiosity
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Set notation for 1) x_i and x_j belong to same class. 2) do not belong to the same class?

Suppose have data X= {x1, x2,…,xn } . Have a CI ={ C1,…,CK,CK+1 } , where { C1,…,CK,CK+1 } represent K+1 classes/clusters How write xi and xj belong to same class? Attempt CI (xi) = CI (xj) How about xi and xj do not belong to the same…
gingerorange
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Minimum notation of modified set elements analog to Sum notation

I'm currently trying to simplify a calculation that takes the minimum of all elements in a set. However the elements should not be taken as they are but be modifiable: $$ S = \{{A}, {B}, {C}\}\\ min(({f}_{A} \cdot {m}_{A}), ({f}_{B} \cdot {m}_{B}),…
Thomas Fankhauser
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Is there one universal standard for mathematical notation?

Lots of different notations are used to mean the same things. For example $\arcsin\left(x\right)$ and $\sin^{-1}\left(x\right)$ mean the same thing usually, but logically $\sin^{-1}\left(x\right)$ would mean $\frac{1}{\sin\left(x\right)}$ which is…
The_Animator
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What is the meaning of the symbol | (vertical line) in maths?

Whilst reading the solutions to a question I encountered the symbol "|" (vertical line) in the format of a|b (the exact replica of what was written is "q|q^2"). After googling, the only definition which I have found is "or", which does not make…
PCatus
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Notation for element of matrix

I am wondering what is a proper way to refer to a single or multipe elements taken from a bigger matrix. Lets say there is the matrix $A$. If I want to pick a single element, I would write something like this: $b = A_{12}$, $b = (A)_{12}$, and for…
Lemonbonbon
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Meaning of a novel "division" notation

In Oliver Salazar Celis' "Adaptive Thiele interpolation," ACM Communications of Computer Algebra 56(3), Issue 221, September 2022, page 125 (Eq. 1) we find: What does this horizontal plus vertical division-like notation mean?
David G. Stork
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