How do you calculate the ideal gas law constant? How do you find density in the ideal gas law? Does ideal gas law apply to liquids? Impact of this question views around the world. Mathematics is the most fundamental type of logic possible in physics anyway , and therefore it is easy to reason that mathematics is the best way of expressing the universe. But if we choose to ignore the murky waters of elementary logic, mathematics becomes the language of the universe simply because it has to be.
There is no simpler, more fundamental way of expressing the universe than through the basic ideas of equality and inequality, which in turn lead to the concept of quantification, which lead to the concept of value and numbers to expressed levels of inequality , and once we have numbers, the rest of mathematics seems to bloom from all around us.
But again, the system we use to describe mathematics and mathematics itself are two completely different things. Care about supporting clean energy adoption? Find out how much money and planet! Below, I am going to collect quotes I occasionally come across that uphold that point.
My own attitude, which I share with many of my colleagues, is simply that mathematics is a language. Like English, or Latin, or Chinese, there are certain concepts for which mathematics is particularly well suited: it would be as foolish to attempt to write a love poem in the language of mathematics as to prove the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra using the English language. Arnold et al, ed , AMS, , p. To answer the question, it helps to know what language is and how the vocabulary and grammar of mathematics are used to construct sentences.
There are multiple definitions of " language. Language may refer to a system of communication using symbols or sounds. Linguist Noam Chomsky defined language as a set of sentences constructed using a finite set of elements. Some linguists believe language should be able to represent events and abstract concepts.
Whichever definition is used, a language contains the following components:. Mathematics meets all of these requirements. The symbols, their meanings, syntax, and grammar are the same throughout the world.
Mathematicians, scientists, and others use math to communicate concepts. Mathematics describes itself a field called meta-mathematics , real-world phenomena, and abstract concepts. The vocabulary of math draws from many different alphabets and includes symbols unique to math.
A mathematical equation may be stated in words to form a sentence that has a noun and a verb, just like a sentence in a spoken language. For example:. Breaking this down, nouns in math include:. Verbs include symbols including:.
If you try to perform a sentence diagram on a mathematical sentence, you'll find infinitives, conjunctions, adjectives, etc. As in other languages, the role played by a symbol depends on its context. Mathematics grammar and syntax, like vocabulary, are international. No matter what country you're from or what language you speak, the structure of the mathematical language is the same.
Understanding how mathematical sentences work is helpful when teaching or learning math.
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