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Mathematical and scientific symbols

Commonpronunciations(inBritishEnglishGimson,1981)ofmathematicalandscientificsymbols
aregiveninthelistbelow.

(allthepagesinthissectionneedaunicodefontinstallede.g.ArialUnicodeMS,DoulosSIL
Unicode,LucidaSansUnicodesee:TheInternationalPhoneticAlphabetinUnicode).

Symbols
+ plus /'pls/
- minus /'mans/
plus or minus /'pls : 'mans/
x multiplied by /'mltplad ba/
/ over; divided by /'v/ /d'vadd/
divided /d'vadd/
= equals /':kwlz/
approximately, similar /'prksmtl/ /'sml t/
equivalent to;identical /k'wvlnt t/ /a'dentkl t/
not equal to /'nt 'ikwl t/
> greater than /'gret n/
< less than /'les n/
greater than or equal to /'gret nr 'ikwl t/
less than or equal to /'les nr' ikwl t/
not greater than /'nt 'gret n/
not less than /'nt 'les n/
much greater than /'m 'gret n/
much less than /'m 'les n/
perpendicular to /ppn'dkjl t/
parallel to /'prlel t/
/'nt k'wvlnt t/ /'nt a'dentkl
not equivalent to, not identical to
t/
not similar to /'nt 'sml t/
squared /'skwed/
cubed /'kju:bd/
4 to the fourth; to the power four /t 'f/ /te 'p f/

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n to the n; to the nth;to the power n /t en; t d en; t pr

en/
root;square root /ru:t/ /skwe ru:t/
cube root /kju:b ru:t/
fourth root /f rut/
! factorial /fk'trl/
% percent /p'sent/
infinity /n'fnt/
varies as;proportional to /'vrz/ /pr'pnl/
dot /dt/
double dot /dbl dt/
: is to, ratio of /re/
f(x) fx f;function /ef/ /'fkn/
f'(x) f dash; derivative /d/ /d'rvtv/
f''x f double-dash;second derivative /'dbl d/ /'seknd d'rvtv/
/'trpl d/ / trebl d/ /:d
f'''(x) f triple-dash; f treble-dash;third derivative
d'rvtv/

f(4) f four;fourth derivative /f d'rvtv/

partial derivative, delta /pal d'rvtv/ /delt/
integral /'ntgrl/
sum /sm/
w.r.t. with respect to /w 'rspekt/
log log /lg/
logx log to the base 2 of x /lg t bes tu: v eks/
therefore /'f/
because /b'kz/
gives, leads to, approaches /gvz/ /li:dz t/ /prz/
/ per /p:/
belongs to; a member of; an element of /b'lz/ /'memb/ /'elmnt/
does not belong to;is not a member of; is not an /ntb'l/ /nt 'memb/ /nt n

element of 'elmnt/
contained in;a proper subset of /kn'tend n/ /'prp 'sbset/
contained in;subset /'sbset/
intersection /'ntsekn/

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union /'junn/
for all /f r:l/
cos x cos x; cosine x /kz/
sin x sine x /san/
tan x tangent x /tan/
cosec x cosec x /'ksek/
sinh x shine x /'an/
cosh x cosh x /'k/
tanh x than x /n/
|x| mod x; modulus x /md/ /'mdjls/
degrees Centigrade /d'gri:z 'sentgred/
degrees Fahrenheit /d'gri:z 'frnhat/
K degrees Kelvin /d'gri:z 'kelvn/
0K, 273.15
absolute zero /abslu:t zi:r/
C
mm millimetre /'mlmit/
cm centimetre /'sentmit/
/'kjubk
cc, cm cubic centimetre, centimetre cubed
'sentmit//'sentmit'kju:bd/
m metre /'mit/
km kilometre /k'lmt/
mg milligram /'mlgrm/
g gram /grm/
kg kilogram /'klgrm/
AC A.C. /e si:/
DC D.C. /di: si:/

^
Examples
x+1 x plus one
x -1 x minus one
x1 x plus or minus one

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xy x y; x times y; x multiplied by y
(x y)(x
x minus y, x plus y
+ y)
x/y x over y; x divided by y;
xy x divided by y
x=5 x equals 5; x is equal to 5
xy x is approximately equal to y
x y x is equivalent to y; x is identical with y
xy x is not equal to y
x>y x is greater than y
x<y x is less than y
x y x is greater than or equal to y
xy x is less than or equal to y
0<x<1 zero is less than x is less than 1; x is greater than zero and less than 1
zero is less than or equal to x is less than or equal to 1; x is greater than or equal to
0 x 1
zero and less than or equal to 1
x x squared
x x cubed

x4 x to the fourth; x to the power four

xn x to the n;x to the nth; x to the power n

x-n x to the minus n; x to the power of minus n

root x;square root x;the square root of x
the cube root of x
the fourth root of x
the nth root of x
(x + y) x plus y all squared
(x/y) x over y all squared
n! n factorial; factorial n
x% x percent
infinity
xy x varies as y; x is (directly) proportional to y
x 1/y x varies as one over y; x is indirectly proportional to y
xdot
xdouble dot
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f(x) fx f of x; the function of x

f'(x) f dash x; the (first) derivative of with respect to x
f''x f double-dash x; the second derivative of f with respect to x
f'''(x) f triple-dash x; f treble-dash x; the third derivative of f with respect to x
f(4) f four x; the fourth derivative of f with respect to x
v the partial derivative of v
v
delta v by delta theta, the partial derivative of v with respect to

v
delta two v by delta theta squared; the second partial derivative of v with respect to

dv the derivative of v
dv
d v by d theta, the derivative of v with respect to theta
d

dv
d 2 v by d theta squared, the second derivative of v with respect to theta,
d
integral

integral from zero to infinity

sum

the sum from i equals 1 to n

w.r.t. with respect to

logey log to the base e of y; log y to the base e; natural log (of) y
therefore
because
gives, approaches
x 0 delta x approaches zero
lim
the limit as delta x approaches zero,the limit as delta x tends to zero
x0

Lt
the limit as delta x approaches zero,the limit as delta x tends to zero
x0

m/sec metres per second

xA x belongs to A; x is a member of A; x is an element of A
x A x does not belong to A; x is not a member of A; x is not an element of A
A B A is contained in B; A is a proper subset of B
AB A is contained in B; A is a subset of B
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A B A intersection B
A B A union B
cos x cos x; cosine x
sin x sine x
tan x tangent x, tan x
cosec x cosec x
sinh x shine x
cosh x cosh x
tanh x than x
|x| mod x; modulus x
18 eighteen degrees Centigrade
70 seventy degrees Fahrenheit

^
Greek alphabet
alpha /'lf/
beta /'bi:t/
gamma /'gm/
delta /'delt/
epsilon /'epsiln/
zeta /'zit/
eta /'it/
theta /'it/
iota /a't/
kappa /'kp/
lamda /'lmd/
mu /'mju/
nu /'nju/
xi /'ksa/
omicron /'mkrn/
pi /'pa/
rho /'r/
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sigma /'sgm/
tau /'t/
upsilon /'jpsln/
phi /'fa/
chi /'ka/
psi /'psa/
omega /'mg/

^
Roman alphabet
A a /'e/
B b /'bi/
C c /'si/
D d /'di/
E e /'i/
F f /'ef/
G g /'i/
H h /'e/
I i /'a/
J j /'e/
K k /'ke/
L l /'el/
M m /'em/
N n /'en/
O o /'/
P p /'pi/
Q q /'kju/
R r /'/
S s /'es/
T t /'ti:/
U u /'ju:/
V v /'vi:/
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W w /'dblju/
X x /'eks/
Y y /'wa/
Z z /'zed/

^
Fractions
a half / 'h:f/
a quarter / 'kwt/
three quarters /ri 'kwtz/
a third / ':d/
two thirds /tu: ':dz/
a fifth / 'ff/
two fifths /tu: 'ffs/
three fifths /ri 'ffs/
four fifths /f 'ffs/
a sixth / 'sks/
five sixths /fav 'skss/
an eighth /n 'et/
three eighths /ri 'ets/
five eighths /fav'ets/
seven eighths /sevn'ets/

^
Decimal Fractions
0.1 nought point one /n:t pntwn/
0.01 nought point oh one /n:tpnt wn/
0.0001 nought point oh oh oh one /ten pnt wn/

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1.1 one point one /wnpntwn/

1.2 one point two /wnpnt tu:/
1.23 one point two three /wnpnt tu: ri:/
1.0123 one point oh one two three /wnpnt wn tu: ri:/
10.01 ten point oh one /ten pnt wn/
21.57 twenty-one point five seven /'twent wnpnt fav 'sevn/
2.6666666666.... two point six recurring /tu: pnt sksr'k:r/
2.612361236123... two point six one two three recurring /tu: pnt sks wn tu:ri: r'k:r/
2.5 million two point five million /tu: pnt fav'mljn/

^
SI Units: Prefixes
10-24 yocto y /'jkt/

10-21 zepto z /'zept/

10-18 atto a /'at/

10-15 femto f /'femt/

10-12 pico p /'pi:k/

10-9 nano n /'nan/

10-6 micro /'makr/

10-3 milli m /'ml/

10-2 centi c /'sent/

10-1 deci d /'des/

103 kilo k /'kl/

106 mega M /'meg/

109 giga G /'gg/

1012 tera T /'ter/

1015 peta P /'pet/

1018 exa E /'eks/

1021 zetta Z /'zet/

1024 yotta Y /'jt/

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1027 xona X /'zn/

1030 weka W /'wek/

1033 vunda V /'vnd/

^
Cardinal Numbers
1 one /wn/
2 two /tu:/
3 three /ri:/
4 four /f/
5 five /fav/
6 six /sks/
7 seven /'sevn/
8 eight /et/
9 nine /nan/
10 ten /ten/
11 eleven /'levn/
12 twelve /twelv/
13 thirteen /:'ti:n/
14 fourteen /f'ti:n/
15 fifteen /ff'ti:n/
16 sixteen /skst'i:n/
17 seventeen /seven'ti:n/
18 eighteen /e'ti:n/
19 nineteen /nan'ti:n/
20 twenty /'twent/
21 twenty-one /twent'wn/
22 twenty-two /twent'tu:/
23 twenty-three /twent'ri:/
24 twenty-four /twent'f/
25 twenty-five /twent'fav/

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26 twenty-six /twent'sks/
27 twenty-seven /twent'sevn/
28 twenty-eight /twent'et/
29 twenty-nine /twent'nan/
30 thirty /':t/
40 forty /'ft/
50 fifty /'fft/
60 sixty /'skst/
70 seventy /'sevnt/
80 eighty /'et/
90 ninety /'nant/
100 a hundred; one hundred / 'hndrd/ /wn 'hndrd/
101 a hundred and one / 'hndrd n wn/
102 a hundred and two / 'hndrd n tu:/
110 a hundred and ten / 'hndrd n ten/
120 a hundred and twenty / 'hndrd n'twent/
200 two hundred /tu: 'hndrd/
300 three hundred /ri: 'hndrd/
400 four hundred /f 'hndrd/
500 five hundred /fav 'hndrd/
600 six hundred /sks 'hndrd/
700 seven hundred /'sevn 'hndrd/
800 eight hundred /et 'hndrd/
900 nine hundred /nan 'hndrd/
1 000 a thousand, one thousand / 'znd/ /wn 'znd/
1 001 a thousand and one / 'znd n wn/
1 010 a thousand and ten / 'znd n ten/
1 020 a thousand and twenty / 'zndn'twent/
1 100 one thousand, one hunded /wn 'zndwn 'hndrd/
one thousand, one hundred /wn 'zndwn 'hndrd n
1 101
and one wn/
one thousand, one hundred /wn 'zndwn 'hndrd n
1 110
and ten ten/
nine thousand, nine hundred /nan 'zndnan 'hndrd
9 999
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and ninety-nine n'nant 'nan/

10 000 ten thousand /ten 'znd/
fifteen thousand, three /'ffti:n 'zndri: 'hndrd
15 356 hundred and fifty six n 'fft sks/
100 000 a hundred thousand / 'hndrd 'znd/
1 000 000 a million / 'mljn/
100 000 000 a hundred million / 'hndrd 'mljn/
1 000 000 000 a billion / 'bljn/
100 000 000 000 a hundred billion / 'hndrd 'bljn/
1 000 000 000 000 a trillion / 'trljn/
1 000 000 000 000 000 a quadrillion / kwdrljn/
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a quintillian / kwn'tljn/
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 a sextillion / seks'tljn/
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
a septillion / sep'tljn/
000
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
an ocillion /n kt'tljn/
000 000
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
a nonillion / nn'ljn/
000 000 000
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
a decillion / de'sljn/
000 000 000 000

^
Ordinal Numbers
1st first /f:st/
2nd second /'seknd/
3rd third /:d/
4th fourth /f:/
5th fifth /ff/
6th sixth /sks/
7th seventh /'sevn/
8th eighth /et/
9th ninth /nan/

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10th tenth /ten/

11th eleventh /'levn/
12th twelfth /'twelf/
13th thirteenth /:'ti:n/
14th fourteenth /f'ti:n/
15th fifteenth /ff'ti:n/
16th sixteenth /sks'ti:n/
17th seventeenth /seven'ti:n/
18th eighteenth /e'ti:n/
19th nineteenth /nan'ti:n/
20th twentieth /'twent/
21st twenty-first /twent'f:st/
22nd twenty-second /twent'seknd/
23rd twenty-third /twent':d/
24th twenty-fourth /twent'f:/
25th twenty-fifth /twent'ff/
26th twenty-sixth /twent'sks/
27th twenty-seventh /twent'sevn/
28th twenty-eighth /twent'et/
29th twenty-ninth /twent'nan/
30th thirtieth /'t/
31st thirty-first /t'f:st/
40th fortieth /'f:t/
50th fiftieth /'fft/
100th hundredth /'hndrd/
1 000th thousandth /'znd/
1 000 000th miilionth /'mljn/

^
Chemicals

^
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