2.2 Differentiation: Terminology in Context

In the previous section, you encountered mathematical terms in isolation. Now, you will focus on how mathematical terminology and STEM expressions are used in context, that is, within sentences and text (recall, ‘STEM’ stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Mathematical terms rarely appear alone, they occur in text alongside other words. For example, the word mathematics rarely appears on its own. It of course occurs in sentences and in texts, for example as the opening sentence of a book on the history of mathematics: The discipline of Mathematics is an ancient form of human enquiry which emerged over two thousand years ago in various civilisations.

By studying terminology and expressions in context, you will become more familiar with how they are used, helping you recognise and apply them more confidently in your own work.

 

In this activity, complete multiple texts on the topic of differentiation by filling in the missing mathematical terms.

Most of the missing terms are words you learnt in the previous section, or are listed in the Glossary, Section 2.7. However, there may also be a few new terms. If you encounter any unfamiliar words (either as missing words or in the surrounding text), look them up and note them in your vocabulary book.

Note that after each mathematical notation, its pronunciation is given in brackets in italics. Furthermore, the stressed syllables are in bold.

 

 

Language Focus

The following four two-word terms occur in the above paragraph.

tangent line, inflection points                                               relative change, differential calculus 

All four items consist of two words; the structure however, differs across the two sets. The first set contains noun-noun compounds: both words in each compound are nouns. The second set contains adjective-noun pairs: the first word of each adjective-noun pair has an adjective ending, indicated below.

relative change; differential calculus

We can see these two adjective endings in other mathematical terms e.g. multiplicative inverse; associative property; additive identity; exponential growth; orthogonal matrix; computational mathematics.

In the item inflection point, the first word has an ending (-tion); however, this ending is a noun ending (e.g. addition, subtraction, multiplication).

Refer to Section 5.2 of Essentials of Linguistics for more information.

Consider the following six two-word terms and decide which three are noun-noun compounds, which three are adjective-noun pairs and what the adjective ending is.

computational complexity; angular momentum; textbook; mathematical physics; circle geometry; computer program

Answer

Noun-noun: textbook; circle geometry; computer program.

Adjective-noun: computational complexity; angular momentum; mathematical physics.

 

This activity continues from the previous one. You will again work with words and phrases in a text, but this time, the focus is on STEM expressions, not just mathematical terms.

Your task is to drag and drop the correct phrase from the list into each gap in the text.

An example of a STEM expression is: a set of rules for determining how rapidly a function changes. This is an example of a string of words which is used in mathematics and beyond.

Note that after each mathematical notation, its pronunciation is given in brackets in italics.

 

In the next section, you will learn how to read out individual mathematical symbols. While the current and previous sections focused on mathematical terminology, the next section will help you communicate using mathematical symbols.

 

 

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