Mathematical symbols of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division French mathematician Sousou used some symbols in the three arithmetic parts he wrote in 1484, such as D for addition and M for subtraction. These two symbols first appeared in the commercial speed algorithm written by German mathematician Videman. He used "+"to indicate surplus and "──" to indicate deficiency. Through 15655. 1544, German mathematician Steefel formally used "+"and "─" to express addition and subtraction in integer arithmetic, and these two symbols were gradually recognized as real arithmetic symbols and widely used.
The symbol "X" for multiplication was put forward by the British mathematician Oughtred. He introduced this symbol in Key to Mathematics published in 163 1 year. It is said that this notation is derived from the addition symbol+,because multiplication is developed from the addition of the same number. Later, Leibniz thought that "X" was easily confused with "X" and suggested using it.
The division symbol "⊙" was first used in Varis, England, and later popularized in England. In addition to the original meaning of "fen", the horizontal line in the middle of the symbol "⊙ ⊙" separates the upper and lower parts, which vividly represents "fen". At this point, the four operation symbols have been completed, which is far from being widely adopted by all countries.
"Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (+,-,x (? ), ⊙) and other mathematical symbols were formed after long-term development and were widely used in17th century. The addition symbol begins with the prefix p of the English plus sign. In Germany, the word "et" equivalent to English "and" is used. With the prosperity of European business, writing "et" is too slow. In order to speed up, the two letters are written together, so "et" gradually becomes "+". The same is true for subtraction, which uses the prefix m of the MINUS sign in English, and gradually becomes "-"for the convenience of sketching. About 65,438+000 years after the appearance of "+",Oughtred in Britain first used "×" as the multiplication sign. It is said that multiplication symbols are derived from addition symbols. Because multiplication is developed from the addition of several identical numbers. For example, 13×5 is13+13+13+. That is to say, multiplication is a special addition operation, so if the addition symbol "+"is slightly changed, it will become the current multiplication symbol "×". Later, Leibniz thought that "×" was easily confused with χ, and suggested "? As an instrument, like this? "Has also been recognized. But some people think "? "It's easy to be confused with the decimal point, and still insist on using the X number. The symbol "∫" for division was first used in Varis, England, and was later popularized in England. Plus the original intention, such as 100 apples to 10 children, how much each person gets is100/0. The horizontal line in the middle of the symbol "⊙" separates the upper and lower parts, which vividly represents "fen". But in Germany, Leibniz used ":"to represent the division symbol, which has been used ever since. Later, people also used ":"to express ratio, because ratio and division have the same meaning.