Mathematical Symbols (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Maths): Revision Note

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

  • Multiplication, product, times

  • Division, quotient, divide, share

• Equals signs

  • Equal to

    • e.g. 

  • Not equal to

    • e.g. 

  • Approximately equal to

    • e.g. 

  • Identical (equivalent) to

    • e.g. 

• Inequality signs

  • Greater than

    • e.g. 

  • Less than

    • e.g. 

  • Greater than or equal to

  • Less than or equal to

• Other helpful symbols

  •   Brackets

    • used to group symbols

    • e.g. 

  •   Powers (also called indices, orders, or exponents)

    • repeated multiplication

    • e.g. 

  •   Square root

    • opposite of squaring

    • e.g.  is the opposite to 

  •   Plus Minus

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

    • is the same as and 

    • e.g.  is the same as and

  •   Pi

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