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List of all math symbols and meaning - equality, inequality, parentheses, plus, minus, times, division, power, square root, percent, per mille,...
The list below has some of the most common symbols in mathematics. However, these symbols can have other meanings in different contexts other than math.
SymbolNameRead AsMeaning=Equalis equal toIf x=y, x and y represent the same value ...≡Definitionis defined asIf x≡y, x is defined as another name of ...≈Approximately equalis approximately equal toIf x≈y, x and y are almost equal.≠Inequationdoes not equal, is not equal toIf x≠y, x and y do not represent the same ...- Less Than and Greater Than
- Or Equal to ...
- Why Use them?
- Changing Sides
- An Example Using Algebra
The "less than" sign and the "greater than" sign look like a "V" on its side, don't they? To remember which way around the "<" and ">" signs go, just remember: 1. BIG > small 2. small < BIG Greater Than Symbol: BIG > small
Sometimes we know a value is smaller, but may also be equal to! To show this, we add an extra line at the bottom of the "less than" or "greater than" symbol like this:
Because there are things we do not know exactly ... So we have ways of saying what we doknow (which may be useful!)
We saw in that previous example that when we change sides we flipped the symbol as well. Here is another example using "≥" and "≤":
OK, this example may be complicated if you don't know Algebra, but I thought you might like to see it anyway:
The equal sign with two lines means something is equal to something. Example: a = 3, b = 9. The equal sign with three lines means that something is identical or similar to something but not necessarily equal. Thus, a triple equals sign means equivalent. The equivalent is not the same as ‘equals’.
In mathematics, the equal sign can be used as a simple statement of fact in a specific case ("x = 2 "), or to create definitions ("let x = 2 "), conditional statements ("if x = 2, then ... "), or to express a universal equivalence ("(x + 1) 2 = x 2 + 2x + 1 ").
The = symbol is employed to indicate that two quantities or expressions are identical, meaning they represent the same value. Its use permeates almost every facet of mathematics, from basic arithmetic to advanced equations in higher mathematics.
The equal sign in math is a sign that shows the equality between two expressions. In simple words, the meaning of equal sign is that there is an equality between the values, or expressions written on both the sides.