IGCSEMathsCambridge (CIE)International MathsExtendedRevision NotesNumberNumber OperationsMathematical Symbols

Mathematical Symbols (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE International Maths)

Revision Note

Jamie Wood

Written by: Jamie Wood

Reviewed by: Dan Finlay

Mathematical Symbols

What mathematical symbols do I need to know?

Starting with the basic four operations
- $+$ Addition, plus, sum, total
- $-$ Subtraction, minus, difference, take away
- $\times$ Multiplication, product, times
- $\div$ Division, quotient, divide, share

Equals signs
- $=$ Equal to
  - e.g. $3 x + 7 = 19$
- $\neq$ Not equal to
  - e.g. $2 - 5 \neq 5 - 2$
- $\approx$ Approximately equal to
  - e.g. $π \approx 3.14$
- $\equiv$ Identical (equivalent) to
  - e.g. $12 x + 6 \equiv 3 (4 x + 2)$

Inequality signs
- $>$ Greater than
  - e.g. $5 > - 2$
- $<$ Less than
  - e.g. $\frac{1}{2} < \frac{2}{3}$
- $\geq$ Greater than or equal to
- $\leq$ Less than or equal to

Other helpful symbols
- $()$ Brackets
  - used to group symbols
  - e.g. $(2 x + 4) - 3 (x + 7)$
- $3^{x}$ Powers (also called indices, orders, or exponents)
  - repeated multiplication
  - e.g. $3^{4} = 3 \times 3 \times 3 \times 3 = 81$
- $\sqrt{}$ Square root
  - opposite of squaring
  - e.g. $\sqrt{81} = 9$ is the opposite to $9^{2} = 81$
- $\pm$ Plus Minus
  - used to allow for both a positive and negative answer (two distinct answers)
  - $a \pm b$ is the same as $a + b$ and $a - b$
  - e.g. $x = 3 \pm 2.5$ is the same as $x = 3 + 2.5 = 5.5$ and $x = 3 = 2.5 = 0.5$
- $π$ Pi
  - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter

Last updated: 23 May 2024

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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.