From 8a7f6449a73a9cde533e938db52d1677b4da09ec Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hananoshika Yomaru
+ People counted with fingers and words long before they agreed on one way to write math. Ancient + Egyptians and Babylonians used pictures and marks for amounts. Over centuries, different + countries used different symbols for the same ideas. +
+ +
+ + The equals sign (=) was popularised in the 1500s by Welsh mathematician + Robert Recorde. He chose two lines because “no two things can be more equal” than + parallel lines — a way to show both sides match. +
++ The plus and minus signs (+ and −) became common in Europe + around the same era, replacing longer Latin words. The times sign (×) and + division sign (÷) appeared later, when printing books needed short, clear marks + that fit on one line. +
++ Brackets grew important when formulas got longer — mathematicians needed a visible rule for + “which part first,” just like you do in (2 + 3) + 4. +
+The symbols 0 through 9 are called digits. Each @@ -218,28 +257,135 @@ strand = "Number & Algebra"
- Sometimes we compare two amounts without adding or subtracting. The open mouth of the symbol - points at the bigger number. + Sometimes we compare two amounts without adding or subtracting. Think of + < and > as a hungry mouth: the open side points at the + bigger number — it “wants” the larger pile.
Read each line like a short sentence. The symbol tells you which side is bigger:
+- You may also see ≤ (less than or equal) and ≥ (greater than or - equal). The extra line means “or the same amount.” + The same idea works either way: 7 > 4 and 4 < 7 both say + that seven is the bigger amount.
++ You can chain comparisons when several numbers line up from biggest to smallest + (or the other way around). Read it in order, one piece at a time: +
++ 9 > 7 > 4 > 1 — “nine is greater than seven, greater than four, greater + than one.” Each number is bigger than the one to its right. +
++ In words: nine is greater than seven; seven is greater than four; four is greater than one. The + whole chain means nine wins and one is smallest. +
++ You can flip the story for “smallest first”: 1 < 4 < 7 < 9 — “one is + less than four, less than seven, less than nine.” Same order, different mouths. +
+ +Or the same amount
++ You may also see ≤ (less than or equal) and ≥ (greater than or + equal). The extra line means “or the same amount,” like 5 ≤ 5. +
+In big numbers like 1,000, a comma groups digits in threes so the number is easier to read — one thousand, not “one zero zero zero” as separate ideas.
- A decimal point . sits between a whole part and a smaller part. - 3.50 might mean three dollars and fifty cents: the part after the point is not - whole dollars. You will learn more about decimals later; for now, remember the dot splits the - number into two pieces. + A decimal point . is a tiny dot that acts like a + fence in a number. Everything on the left counts whole things + you can line up (1, 2, 3, …). Everything on the right tells a + piece of one more thing — not another full thing. +
++ Take 3.5. Read it as “three and a half”: three full ones, plus + half of the next one. The digit 5 after the point does not mean “five + more marbles” — it names how much of the next whole you have filled in. +
++ 35 + three and a half +
++ In a shop, 3.50 often means three dollars and fifty cents: dollars are whole + steps on the left, cents are small pieces on the right. You will learn more about decimals later; + for now, remember the point splits “how many wholes” from “how much of the next one.”
- People counted with fingers and words long before they agreed on one way to write math. Ancient - Egyptians and Babylonians used pictures and marks for amounts. Over centuries, different - countries used different symbols for the same ideas. -
-- The equals sign (=) was popularised in the 1500s by Welsh mathematician - Robert Recorde. He chose two lines because “no two things can be more equal” than - parallel lines — a way to show both sides match. -
-- The plus and minus signs (+ and −) became common in Europe - around the same era, replacing longer Latin words. The times sign (×) and - division sign (÷) appeared later, when printing books needed short, clear marks - that fit on one line. -
-- Brackets grew important when formulas got longer — mathematicians needed a visible rule for - “which part first,” just like you do in (2 + 3) + 4. -
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