1. Reading Maths in English Functions: those strange machines Unit 3 ACTIVITY 1

2. 1st Part: GENERAL DIFFERENCES

3. Mathematical notation aspires to be universal. But there are some differences between Catalans and English-spoken people when writing Mathematics. They are not important differences (it is a question of style, we can say). But it is interesting to know them.

4. 1. Writing numbers The English “seven” is like the one on the computers or the calculator: It can’t be confused with a “one”, because the English one is: Catalan seventeen: English seventeen:

5. 2. Decimal point To separate the whole part from the decimal part of a number, the British people use a point, not a comma: 7·25 “seven point twenty-five” or “seven point two five” It is not a bad solution because, in this way, they don’t confuse the decimals points with the commas, working with ordinate pairs (x, y): Catalan notation: British notation: P ( 2,3, 5,8 )P (2·3, 5·8)

6. 3. Multiplication symbol As they can’t use the point to express product, the British always use an oblique cross: 7×25 “seven times twenty-five” They use this symbol, even, working in Algebra: Catalan expressions: British expressions: 7a, 2ab7×a, 7×a×b

7. 4. Using variables It is even more complicated when we are working with equations, as the product symbol can be confused with the unknown number “ecs” (variable). To solve this problem, they use a kind of italics: Catalan expressions: British expressions: 4x, -3x 2 4× x, -3× x 2

8. 5. Equality symbol As we do, the British people use the equality symbol in different situations. But they distinguish well: * Doing calculus: 7+8×2-5 = 7+16-5 (always new line) = 23-5 = 18 * Solving equations: 5× x -7=3× x +9 5× x -3× x =9+7 2× x =16 (always new line, and symbol ) x =8

9. 6. Division symbol English-spoken people don’t understand the colon (:) as the symbol of the division. They use ÷ : The colon is only used to express ratio: 12÷3 “twelve divided by 3” 2:3 “2 to 3” “the ratio of girls to pupils is 2 to 3”

10. 2nd Part: READING ARITHMETICS

11. Addition (summation) 2+3=5 “2 plus 3 equals 5” “2 and 3 is 5” “2 and 3 add up to make 5” “the sum of 2 and 3 is 5” addends/ sum/result summands/ plus sign terms

12. Subtraction 7-4=3 “7 minus 4 equals 3” “7 take-away 4 leaves 3” “4 from 7 is 3” minuend difference/result subtrahend minus sign (terms) -4 “minus 4” or “negative 4”

13. Product (multiplication) 3×5=15 “3 times 5 is 15” “3 multiplied by 5 is 15” “3 by 5 equals 15 multiplicands/ product/result factors multiplication sign 2×5=10 “twice five is ten”

14. Division 6÷2=3 “6 divided by 2 is 3” “6 over 2 equals 3” dividend quotient/result divisor division sign Division algorithm: 327÷2 quotient divisor dividend remainder

15. Exponentiation 3 =9 “3 squared is 9” 3 =27 “3 cubed equals 27” 3 =81 “3 raised to 4 is equal to 81” “3 raised to the 4th power is 81” “3 raised to the power of 4 is 81” base exponent/power/index 2 3 4

16. Roots of 9 is “the square root of 9 is 3” “the cubed root of 27 is 3” “the 4th root of 81 is 3” radicand index radical symbol

17. 3rd Part: READING GEOMETRY

18. a point

19. a straight line

20. a curved line

21. parallel straight lines intersecting straight lines perpendicular lines 90º

22. some geometric figures - perimeter - area

23. triangle

24. quadrilateral

25. NOW YOU INVESTIGATE “What is the name of the geometric figures, and the different types, in English? (prepare a PowerPoint)