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Negative number. This thermometer is indicating a negative Fahrenheit temperature (−4 °F). In mathematics, a negative number is the opposite (mathematics) of a positive real number. [1] Equivalently, a negative number is a real number that is less than zero. Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency.
The simplest example given by Thimbleby of a possible problem when using an immediate-execution calculator is 4 × (−5). As a written formula the value of this is −20 because the minus sign is intended to indicate a negative number, rather than a subtraction, and this is the way that it would be interpreted by a formula calculator.
Plus or minus sign. The plus–minus sign or plus-or-minus sign, ±, is a symbol with multiple meanings. In mathematics, it generally indicates a choice of exactly two possible values, one of which is obtained through addition and the other through subtraction. In statistics and experimental sciences, the sign commonly indicates the confidence ...
Order of operations. In mathematics and computer programming, the order of operations is a collection of rules that reflect conventions about which operations to perform first in order to evaluate a given mathematical expression. These rules are formalized with a ranking of the operations. The rank of an operation is called its precedence, and ...
middle dot (for multiplication) 1698 (perhaps deriving from a much earlier use of middle dot to separate juxtaposed numbers) ⁄. division slash (a.k.a. solidus) 1718 (deriving from horizontal fraction bar, invented by Abu Bakr al-Hassar in the 12th century) Thomas Twining. ≠.
1. Denotes subtraction and is read as minus; for example, 3 – 2. 2. Denotes the additive inverse and is read as minus, the negative of, or the opposite of; for example, –2. 3. Also used in place of \ for denoting the set-theoretic complement; see \ in § Set theory. × (multiplication sign) 1.
The plus sign (+) and the minus sign (−) are mathematical symbols used to denote positive and negative functions, respectively. In addition, + represents the operation of addition, which results in a sum, while − represents subtraction, resulting in a difference. [1] Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous.
This attribute of a number, being exclusively either zero (0), positive (+), or negative (−), is called its sign, and is often encoded to the real numbers 0, 1, and −1, respectively (similar to the way the sign function is defined). [1] Since rational and real numbers are also ordered rings (in fact ordered fields), the sign attribute also ...