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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.

12848 questions
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set notation for vectors of unequal elements

I am looking for a compact way to represent a group of vectors for which each vector contains no two elements that are the same. $$\textbf{y} \in R^n \quad | \quad y_i \neq y_j \quad \forall \quad y_i, y_j \in \textbf{y}$$ I believe this part $y_i,…
mahmoud fathy
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How is functions with "universal" or "unknown" domains written

Related to $f$ equals Is there a way to write a "function" (without lambda calculus) without a domain? For instance, when differentiating, one often just considers $x^3$ as a "universal function"; no domain is defined. And if we…
Frank Vel
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Reading set notation

I am given a question and am having a hard time understanding how to read part of a question, it reads let $ C^{1}(0,1):= \{f:(0,1) \rightarrow \mathbb{R} \mid f\text{ is differentiable and $f'$ is continuous}\}$ so we are given some set $C^1(0,1)$…
Diehardwalnut
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Quick Question about Sequence Notation

If $b_n = \frac{1}{2n+1}$ does the notation $b_{n+1}$ make $b_n = \frac{1}{2(n+1)+1}$ or $b_n = \frac{1}{2n+2}$?
ShrimpCrackers
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How to read the value of -2.0138e-01

Is -2.0138e-01 equal to -0.20138 (or) -0.00138 (or) 0.20138 (or) 0.00138. Not sure how to read the -ve numbers and positive numbers. This website(http://www.easysurf.cc/scintd.htm) shows 0.00138 for -2.0138e-01. Not quite sure, if that's right
tjt
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linear transformation notations

I know that L$(V_1, V_2)$ denotes a linear transformation from $V_1$ to $V_2$. What does $L(V)$ denote. My guess would be that it denotes the homomorphism from $V$ to $V$ but I'm not sure.
aribaldi
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What does this notation represent

$${\bf w}_{k}\sim\mathcal{N}(0,{\bf Q})$$ Note that $\bf Q$ is $2\times2$ matrix. So what is ${\bf w}_k$? This is from Wikipedia- Kalman example application
c0dehunter
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What is the origin of PEMDAS?

While working on a compiler's grammar to follow this, It occurred to me that although it's something we are all taught to and simply follow, I don't know the origin or the reason we do it in the first place. I've done some research, but feel an…
Legato
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When is it appropriate to use set notation outside measure theory?

Soft question and just starting to learn measure theory. So please be kind, and if you want the question gone, just place a comment. I got stuck in trying to write on a problem of combinations with replacement (the context not important) the…
Antoni Parellada
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Notation To Define A Mapping From A Set to a Relation Between Two Elements Of That Set

Say I had a set $S=\{s_1,\dots, s_n\}$, and each $s_i$ denotes an outcome. If I wanted to define a function, $f$ which takes two elements of $S$, $\{s_i, s_j\}$, and maps it to a relation, either $s_i\succ s_j$ or $s_j\succ s_j$, how exactly could I…
Jonathan
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What's the proper symbol to use in a statement containing both exact and approximate results?

I am having a pretty simple question regarding the notation of approximative and exact results on the same line. Let's use linear approximations as an example. Let's say that we have $f(x)=ln(3x+1)$. Then, $L(x)=3x$ is a linear approximation of…
Luxim
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Is there notation for an open OR closed interval?

Is there a notation for indicating that an interval could be open or closed, (similar to the $\pm$ symbol meaning the operation could be $+$ or $-$)? I am looking for an equivalent, less cumbersome way of writing something like "The domain of $f(x)$…
PGmath
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Notation and Proof: Sets

List all eight subsets of the set $$A=\{3,5,7\}$$. Let $$A=\{j,m,h\}$$ Explain why $\{A\}$ is not a subset of $A$. We notice that the given set $A$ is finite. It contains three elements: 3, 5 and 7.
cryptomath
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Question about $\min(a,b)$ as a notation

What does $\min(a,b)$ mean? Does it mean that it is the minimum of the interval $(a,b)$ or is it the smaller number of the two numbers? Thanks!
Marlesque
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Formal distinction between $x=a$, where a is a number, vs $x=\{a_1, a_2, ..., a_n\}$ where x is a solution to an algebraic equation

Currently a high school sophomore, my math curriculum doesn't go into the formal foundations of the math we learn and I'm looking to clarify a very specific idea. (assuming we are dealing with one equation with one unknown variable): We began in…
theideasmith
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