Questions tagged [mathematics]
This tag is for questions about the usage and meaning of mathematical terminology and the names for mathematical entities in English.
498
questions
0
votes
1
answer
58
views
Is 'where' accurate here, or is 'with' accurate? [closed]
I wrote in my manuscript:
'Let f be a k-face of D where $k \ge 4$.'
However, I feel that replacing 'where' with 'with' might be more appropriate. I'm a bit uncertain, so I'm posing this question. Can ...
- 311
-1
votes
2
answers
57
views
Modulo / Modulus - how to use them?
In mathematics there is the concept of modulo roughly the remainer of an integer division, e.g. mod(9,2) gives 1, since taking as many 2 out of 9 as possible, 1 is left.
However, I also come across ...
- 175
4
votes
4
answers
936
views
What is the difference between “To every action” and “For every action”?
Here are two statements:
The first statement is: To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
The second statement is: For every action there is always an equal and opposite ...
0
votes
0
answers
51
views
Word for terminology related to mathematical premises
I have seen some mathematical texts that use words like Lemma, Theorem, Corollary, etc. What would be the appropriate description of such terms? Do they fall under some linguistic category? Is ...
- 107
4
votes
1
answer
95
views
Who coined "times tables" and when?
I've always thought "times tables" to refer to multiplication tables was a British thing, but Wikipedia suggests it might be common in the US, too.
Is anything known about when the term was ...
- 533
16
votes
12
answers
4k
views
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
I saw the following passage in Professor West's homepage, and I hadn't noticed this point before. See https://dwest.web.illinois.edu/grammar.html#cannot
"Can not" and "may be". ...
- 311
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
Names of some fractions
Which are the names of fractions like 1/3, 2/3, 4/3, which are now in disuse or render obsolete. I saw a bit of time ago, a book that mentioned the names associated to those fractions (instead of the ...
1
vote
2
answers
125
views
Can one say "take an integral" instead of "calculate an integral"? What other options are there?
Russians often use the formulation "take an integral". Now I noticed it in an article, written by a Russian and I can't recall I have ever encountered it in English. Is it a possible ...
- 139
7
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Words for diagonal directions
I'm a mathematician currently working on a problem involving splitting a square into two triangles, either by a line connecting top-left and bottom-right, or top-right and bottom left. I'm trying to ...
- 273
1
vote
1
answer
238
views
Why represent percentages with "pc" rather than "%"?
I've seen more and more well respected publications expressing percentages using the abbreviation "pc". E.g. Telegraph:
How else to explain the decision to award a board seat to the boss of ...
- 284
0
votes
1
answer
90
views
Adjective for the shape of a spiral?
In English, the adjective circular is used for a circle, and the adjective elliptical for an ellipse.
Similarly, the adjective helical is used for a helix, but a helix is 3-dimensional.
What is the ...
2
votes
4
answers
223
views
0.5 of the pizza, 0.5 of the class
Suppose that there is a pizza.
1/2 of the pizza means a half of the pizza.
Does English use/allow the expression 0.5 of the pizza?
Suppose that a class has 10 students.
1/2 of the class means 5 ...
- 253
-1
votes
1
answer
52
views
Indefinite article before the multiplication product: ‘a ten of twos is a twenty' or '‘a ten of twos is twenty"
For an article intended for linguists only, I have to unidiomatically translate oral multiplication tables from a South Asian language to reflect the original morphology, and while doing so a question ...
- 101
0
votes
2
answers
101
views
How do you read math operations with parenthesis? [duplicate]
I don't know how to read math operations with (){}[] in English.
2(3x^2+1)-6
If you read this, do you say
"two parenthesis three x squared plus one minus six"
"two parenthesis three x ...
- 121
12
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why does mathematics say "quadratic" instead of "squaric"?
In mathematics, powers of 2 and 3 are often referred to using "square" and "cube" terminology: a "number squared/cubed", the "square/cube root of a number". ...
- 12.7k
0
votes
2
answers
88
views
Possessive Contraction over Equations and Mathematical/Physics Laws
In my mother language, Spanish, when we refer to a famous equation, say those for electromagnetism, we say "Ecuaciones de Maxwell". This translates, literally, as "Equations of Maxwell&...
12
votes
9
answers
6k
views
Is there a non-technical word in English that means "to add one"?
As a computer scientist, I ran into trouble recently with a piece of my game writing for a general audience, which had a few phrases like this:
For magic, each boost increments quantity.
The ...
- 2,198
0
votes
2
answers
92
views
"Four times a certain number decreased by one", 4(x-1) or 4x-1?
How does the English grammar precedence work if this is the case? Are both variation equally valid?
My initial assumption is that the right answer should be "4(x-1)", and if the sentence had ...
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
"Sketching" a graph
While this is in the context of a math problem, the question refers to the connotations and meaning of the word "sketch", so I imagine it fits this site, at least somewhat.
If one asks ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
81
views
Who is Augustus De Morgan's "New Zealander"?
Augustus De Morgan's A Budget of Paradoxes (1863–1867) contains several references to an apocryphal "New Zealander," without explanation. What's the in-joke here? I grok from context that ...
- 2,632
0
votes
2
answers
58
views
Use of adjective "slack" in academic writing
(Note. I deleted the previous question as the discussion was focusing too much on the math.)
I am writing a research paper in mathematical analysis and I have a situation in which I want to give a ...
- 101
0
votes
2
answers
288
views
What words are used to describe the journey of a line on a graph? [closed]
I am looking for words that describe the lines on graphs, or that are used during the journey of a graph line.
For example, Nadir is the lowest point but are there words for the following:
A. The most ...
0
votes
1
answer
75
views
Term for a function whose derivative is decreasing
A "decreasing function" is one that gets smaller as its input gets larger. For example, f(x) = -x, f(x) = 1/x {x > 0}.
What can functions like sqrt(x), ln(x) be called? They are always ...
- 3,350
0
votes
2
answers
75
views
Verb for "swapping" non-commuting operations and modifying them appropriately (commute?)
In mathematics, computer science, physics or any other field that has the concept of commutative operations (or operators), is there a verb to describe the action of taking a sequence AB of two non-...
- 208
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
Use of "the" for math variables
It seems clear to me that this is correct:
Let positive real numbers a,b,c satisfy abc<1. Find ...
(No "the" before "positive".)
Should "The" be used here?
[The] ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
67
views
Math Drills and Times Tables in British English
I'm working on an educational mobile app/game for kids to practice basic arithmetic skills like multiplication, addition, etc. I'm more familiar with the US market and now I struggle with proper and ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
75
views
How to say "we put something under a square root"?
I would like to say that "we put something under a square root" in a math formula. For example my sentence is
The reason for putting the original distances under square root is discussed ...
- 331
-1
votes
1
answer
77
views
When mentioning several items each of which is “Aᵢ”, should I use “Aᵢ’s” with an apostrophe or “Aᵢs” without one?
Here is a sentence I’m about to write:
Given a family of sets { Aᵢ : 1 ≤ i ≤ n }, we may assume that the Aᵢ’s are disjoint.
I mean the sets in the family do not intersect with each other. I am ...
- 115
11
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What's the best way of being clear that a dash ("–") is being used as subtraction in a written message? [closed]
When writing technical emails, it's quite common for me to need to include simple mathematical formulas. I find it hard to clearly include subtractions because dashes are so commonly used as generic ...
- 1,264
0
votes
2
answers
111
views
Is there a word stronger than "promote" but weaker than "enforce" in a technical context? Maybe "force"?
Context: Scientific paper targeting at computer scientists, engineers and mathematicians
I am searching for a word similar to "promote", "push", "force", "enforce&...
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
Is the sentence "For every integer 3<k<15 " written correctly?
In my mathematics paper, I wrote：
For 3<k<15, ... .
I later discovered that k needs to be emphasised as an integer.
So I wrote this:
For every integer 3<k<15, ... .
I'm not sure if above ...
- 311
3
votes
2
answers
499
views
Is there a word that is specific to a number being divisible specifically by 5?
I'm searching for a word that would indicate an attraction to — or consistent use of — numbers that are divisible by "5".
Example:
Tom always bets on numbers ending in 5 or 0 because he is ...
0
votes
1
answer
348
views
What is the difference between Vert/Verts and Vertex/Vertices? [closed]
What is the difference between Vert/Verts and Vertex/Vertices?
Both forms seem to be used interchangeably in mathematics and computer graphics.
Blender (3D software) uses Vert/Verts in it's User ...
- 129
2
votes
1
answer
94
views
Usage of the phrase "to which" in this mathematical explanation
I'm sure I am overthinking this, but I wanted to understand this explanation better (and in turn, be able to explain it to students better). Observe the following explanation of a function in ...
- 140
0
votes
2
answers
38
views
Terms for aerial versus ground surface area
Are there accepted area terms that concisely distinguish aerial area (e.g., from a Google Earth satellite photo) from ground surface area? (For sloped ground, the ground surface area is larger than ...
- 139
0
votes
2
answers
119
views
What is the word to describe a variable whose value does not relate to any absolute unit of measure?
What the title says. I know there's a word but can't remember it.
To explain in more detail, I'm trying to state that while the variable is quantitative, the quantity is not referring to an ...
- 15
1
vote
2
answers
118
views
Articles before names of theorems
there was a similar question
but sometimes you cite theorems just by of authors, e.g. you don't say by the Hopkins-Levitzky theorem we conclude but you just say it follows from Hopkins-Levitzky.
and ...
- 203
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
How to use commas in these particular situations [closed]
I am a mathematicians, and there are some "sentence structures" that constantly appear in my work. I have some doubt about how "commas" behave in them.
I am well aware of the comma ...
- 103
0
votes
3
answers
201
views
What is an antonym for 'one-to-one'?
I am writing a perspective for a general medical science audience. The following adapted figure will be included in the publication:
The figure title appearing in the legend includes the following ...
- 3
6
votes
2
answers
245
views
Proper use of articles in mathematical expressions
I am having trouble using articles correctly, especially in mathematical expressions.
I made two sentences:
Consider the family C of subsets of a set X.
Consider a family D of subsets of a set X.
It ...
- 171
0
votes
1
answer
65
views
When defining the median for an odd number of measurements, should we use [(n+1)/2]th or [(n+1)/2]nd?
When defining the median for an odd number of measurements, should we use [(n+1)/2]th or [(n+1)/2]nd?
I am aware of a related question but I am nor sure if having the number 2 in the denominator ...
- 307
0
votes
1
answer
446
views
How to read the mathematical expression “xʸ”(or “x^y”) in English, which x and y are any of the complex numbers or algebraic expressions? [duplicate]
For example, x=1, y=2, it is 1², how to read the expression?
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
What is an unambiguous expression for 3 3 3 3 3? [closed]
In some country there is a unit for countable quantity.
3 3 3 3 3
For example, they say "5 count-unit of 3".
But in English we just say "five threes". But then
3 3 3 3 3
and
5 3
...
- 253
2
votes
2
answers
128
views
Is there a term for numbers like 0.5, 9.15, 4.22? [duplicate]
I know that in some country, there is a term for numbers like
0.5, 9.15, 4.22
I mean number with dot(.) in its expression.
I sought for the term in English. It was
Decimal Number
But the term "...
- 253
0
votes
2
answers
78
views
Usage of English articles with mathematical equalities
I was curious about how English articles work with cases such as:
For all of the simulations, the B = 15 mT, the f = 10 kHz.
The B and f are of course defined earlier in the text and are used in the ...
1
vote
1
answer
89
views
Name for the argument of the mathematical absolute-value function
Some arguments of common mathematical functions have names, like addend, minuend, subtrahend, dividend, divisor, numerator, denominator, and radicand.
A colleague recently asked me: does the argument ...
- 399
2
votes
2
answers
82
views
How do you pronounce "over the complexes"?
Is there an agreed-upon way to say "complexes" in the sense of "the set of complex numbers" (as in "solve over the complexes")? Do we keep the stress on the first ...
- 121
0
votes
4
answers
885
views
Use of "hence" in mathematical English
In math, particularly in plane geometry, there are lots of simple statements that one implies another, and that implies another, and so on. So, "hence" is frequently used.
For example, let's ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
328
views
“from now” vs “from now on”
In scientific writing, I sometimes introduce variables in the introduction section as follows:
The number of gizmos is expoinential in the number of hickeys (for which we write ℎ from now on). […] We ...
user403801
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
A word to describe sets of something divided into three equal parts as per "quartile" (fourths) or "quintile" (fifths)
I am looking for a word that describes a set of numeric values divided into three equal, ordered parts.
For example, "quartile" refers to subsets of a set that has been divided into four ...
- 111