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Mathematical Operations (Edexcel GCSE Maths)

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Jamie Wood

Written by: Jamie Wood

Reviewed by: Dan Finlay

Edexcel Maths: FoundationEdexcel Maths: Higher

Mathematical Symbols

What mathematical symbols do I need to know?

  • Starting with the basic four operations

    • plus  Addition, plus, sum, total

    • minus  Subtraction, minus, difference, take away

    • cross times Multiplication, product, times

    • divided by Division, quotient, divide, share

  • Equals signs

    • equals Equal to

      • e.g.  3 x plus 7 equals 19

    • not equal to Not equal to

      • e.g.  2 minus 5 not equal to 5 minus 2

    • almost equal to Approximately equal to

      • e.g.  pi almost equal to 3.14

    • identical to Identical (equivalent) to

      • e.g.  12 x plus 6 identical to 3 left parenthesis 4 x plus 2 right parenthesis

  • Inequality signs

    • greater than Greater than

      • e.g.  5 greater than negative 2

    • less than Less than

      • e.g.  1 half less than 2 over 3

    • greater or equal than Greater than or equal to

    • less or equal than Less than or equal to

  • Other helpful symbols

    • left parenthesis space space right parenthesis  Brackets

      • used to group symbols

      • e.g.  left parenthesis 2 x space plus space 4 right parenthesis space – space 3 left parenthesis x space plus 7 right parenthesis

    • 3 to the power of x  Powers (also called indices, orders, or exponents)

      • repeated multiplication

      • e.g.  3 to the power of 4 equals 3 cross times 3 cross times 3 cross times 3 equals 81

    • square root of blank end root  Square root

      • opposite of squaring

      • e.g.  square root of 81 space equals space 9 is the opposite to 9 squared equals 81

    • plus-or-minus  Plus Minus

      • used to allow for both a positive and negative answer (two distinct answers)

      • a plus-or-minus b is the same as a plus b and a minus b

      • e.g.  x equals 3 plus-or-minus 2.5 is the same as x equals 3 plus 2.5 equals 5.5 and x equals 3 equals 2.5 equals 0.5

    • pi  Pi

      • the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter

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    Author
    Reviewer
    Jamie Wood

    Author: Jamie Wood

    Expertise: Maths

    Jamie graduated in 2014 from the University of Bristol with a degree in Electronic and Communications Engineering. He has worked as a teacher for 8 years, in secondary schools and in further education; teaching GCSE and A Level. He is passionate about helping students fulfil their potential through easy-to-use resources and high-quality questions and solutions.

    Dan Finlay

    Author: Dan Finlay

    Expertise: Maths Lead

    Dan graduated from the University of Oxford with a First class degree in mathematics. As well as teaching maths for over 8 years, Dan has marked a range of exams for Edexcel, tutored students and taught A Level Accounting. Dan has a keen interest in statistics and probability and their real-life applications.