Math Symbols
The symbols you are most likely to meet in school, work and on calculators.
Arithmetic
| Symbol | Name | Example |
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| + | plus | 2 + 3 = 5 |
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| − | minus | 7 − 4 = 3 |
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| × or · | times | 3 × 4 = 12 |
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| ÷ or / | divided by | 12 ÷ 4 = 3 |
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| ± | plus or minus | x = 3 ± 2 |
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| % | percent | 25% = 0.25 |
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| xⁿ or ^ | power | 2³ = 8 |
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| √ | square root | √16 = 4 |
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| ⁿ√ | nth root | ³√27 = 3 |
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| ! | factorial | 4! = 24 |
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| |x| | absolute value | |−5| = 5 |
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Comparison
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
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| = | equals | 1 + 1 = 2 |
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| ≠ | not equal to | 3 ≠ 4 |
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| ≈ | approximately equal | π ≈ 3.14 |
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| < | less than | 2 < 5 |
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| > | greater than | 5 > 2 |
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| ≤ | less than or equal | x ≤ 10 |
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| ≥ | greater than or equal | x ≥ 0 |
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| ∝ | proportional to | y ∝ x |
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Algebra, geometry and statistics
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
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| Σ | sum | Σx = x₁ + x₂ + … |
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| π | pi ≈ 3.14159 | C = 2πr |
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| e | Euler’s number ≈ 2.71828 | ln e = 1 |
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| ∞ | infinity | as x → ∞ |
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| ° | degrees | 90° = right angle |
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| ∠ | angle | ∠ABC = 45° |
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| ⊥ | perpendicular | AB ⊥ CD |
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| ∥ | parallel | AB ∥ CD |
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| △ | triangle | △ABC |
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| x̄ | sample mean | x̄ = Σx ÷ n |
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| σ | standard deviation | σ = 2 |
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| ∈ | is an element of | 3 ∈ {1, 2, 3} |
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| ∴ | therefore | x = 2 ∴ 2x = 4 |
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