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AG14C: MATHEMATICS FOR SCIENTISTS

CLASS NOTES

DFP
FSA
UWI

ST AUGUSTINE

2009
Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
1
REVIEW

Numbers

In Mathematics, numbers are classified in to various categories where numbers with similar attributes
have been grouped together and given special names. These are given below:

Natural Numbers

These are numbers used for counting. This collection includes the numbers:

1,2, 3, …

These numbers are also referred to as Positive Integers.

The integers

These are numbers like

…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,…

The integers are composed of the counting numbers, zero and the Negative Integers.

Rational Numbers

x
Numbers which can be represented as quotients, where the x an integer and y, a counting
y
number, are collectively referred to as rational numbers. An important property of the rational
numbers is that their decimal expansions are repetitive. For instance,

1
(i) 0.1111111111 111 ...... =0.1
9
16
(ii) 2.2857142857 14 ..... =2. 285714
7
are rational numbers. The bar over the group indicates that the group repeats indefinitely.

Note: Since each rational number can be expressed as a quotient where the numerator is an
integer and the denominator is a counting number, collectively, the integers are a subset of
the rational numbers.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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Irrational Numbers

It has long been established that the roots of equations like the one given below

x² - 6 = 0

which are given by


x= ± 6

are not rational numbers. All real numbers which are not rational are categorized as Irrational
Numbers and are characterised by having non-repeating infinite decimal expansion. For instance,

(i) 6 = 2.44948974…

(ii) - 13 = - 3.60555127…

(iii) π = 3.14159265…

These are all examples of irrational numbers. It has also long been established that π is
an irrational number and the other two are easy to prove.

Thus, the real number system is entirely composed of the rational and irrational numbers.

The Real Numbers and the Real Number Line

Draw a straight line and mark an arbitrary point on the line by 0. This point is considered to be the origin.
Mark an interval of 1 unit length to the right of 0 and label it by 1, then an interval of a unit length to the right
of 1and label it by 2 and so on. Mark a point 1 unit to the left of 0 and label this point by -1, and a point of 1
unit length to the left of -1 by -2, and so on. This results in the following:

----|--------|-----------|------------|-----------|---------|----------|----------|----------|-→
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Fig 1: Number Line

Note:
(1) Every point on the number line can be associated with a particular real number.

(2) The numbers have order in that they increase from left to right. So all numbers to the right of 3 are
greater than 3 and all numbers to the left of 3 are smaller than 3.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
3
Expressing Relationships between Numbers

In Mathematics, special symbols are used for expressing relationships between numbers or numerical
quantities. The symbols and their meanings are given below:

Symbol Meaning

> “greater than”


≥ “not less than”
< “less than”
≤ “not greater than”
≠ “not equal to”

Illustrations

(a) If x represents a percentage mark in a Mathematics final exam, then x cannot be less than 0 and on the
other hand, x cannot be greater than 100% either. Hence, 0≤x≤ 100.

(b) Identify all numbers which lie

(i) between 5 and 10


(ii) above 4
(iii) 6 or lower

Solution – using number line

(i) ------------------|------------|-----------
0 5 10 15

The bold segment includes all numbers smaller than 10 but greater than 5. If x denotes the numbers
between 5 and 10, then the bold segment represents 5<x<10.

(ii) -------------|------------------------------------
0 4 8

If x denotes all the numbers above 4, then the bold segment can be represented by x > 4. Note that x takes
any value higher than 4, but not 4.

(iii) -------------------------------|------------
-6 0 6 12

If x can take 6 or value less than 6, the shaded segment represents x ≤ 6.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
4
Intervals

At times interest lies in considering all real numbers between two numbers say a and b on the real line.
Such a collection of numbers is referred to as an interval and can be denoted as
(i) (a, b)
if interest lies only in numbers between a and b, excluding the boundary points a and b. This is
referred to as an open interval.

(ii) [a, b]
if the set of interest includes the boundary points a and b then it is referred to as a closed
interval.

If x is a number in (a, b), this can also be expressed as a < x < b. On the other hand if x is a number in [a,
b], then this can be expressed as a ≤ x ≤ b.

Note also that half open intervals like [a, b) {or a≤ x<b)} and (a, b] {or a<x ≤ b} are also allowed.

Absolute Value

The absolute value of a number x denoted by x is given by

x = x if x ≥ 0
- x if x < 0

The absolute value of any number different from zero is a positive number and the absolute of 0 is zero.

Example: Evaluate the following

(i) 5 (ii) 4 (iii) 2 3 (iv) 8 10

Solution

(i) 5 is a positive number, hence 5 = 5

(ii) -4 is a negative number, hence 4 = - ( -4) = 4

(iii) -2 +3 =1 which is positive, hence 2 3 = 1 =1

(iv) +8 – 10= -2 which is negative, hence 8 10 = 2 =2

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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Exponents/Power

The result of multiplying a number x by itself n times, is represented in a concise form by xn. Thus

x*x*…*x = xn

xn is referred to as “x raised to n” or x to the power of n.

In this context, n is a positive integer and denotes the exponent (or power) and x is the base.

The idea can be generalized for any n.

When n < 0 i.e. when n is negative,

1 1
x-n = =
x * x * ... * x x n

xn
Note: = xn-n = x0=1 only when x ≠0
xn

So when n= 0 x0=1 for x ≠ 0 [00 is not defined]

Example: Express each of the following as an exponent

(i) 2 * 2 * 2

(ii) (-3) * (-3) * (-3) * (-3)

1
(iii)
4*4*4

Solution

(i) 2 * 2 * 2 = 23

(ii) (-3) * (-3) * (-3) * (-3) = (-3)4

1 1
(iii) = 3 = 4-3
4*4*4 4

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
6
Rules

If x is a real number and m and n are integers, then

(a) xm xn = xm+n for any x

xm
(b) = xm-n for x≠0
x n

(c) (xm)n = xnm

Application

Single cell organisms reproduce by fission. If a population of bacteria of initial size of 100 doubles every
hour, determine
(i) an expression for population size after t hours
(ii) the number of hours it would take for the population size to reach 1600.

Solution

(i) Let t denote time expressed in hours, and Nt denote the population size after t hours. An expression for
Nt is sought.

Now
(a) N0 denotes the initial population size (size when t=0). Thus, N0 = 100 (given above).

(b) Since the population size doubles every hour, the following can be easily established.
Time (t) 0 1 2 …
Population size at time 1(100) 2(100) 2(200) …
m
Nt 2 0 (100) 2 1 (100) 2 2 (100) …
100 200 400 …

Since the population size at t = 0 is N0=100. Thus, at t=0, N0 = 2 0 (100), at t = 1, N1=2 1 (100), at t=2,
N2=22(100), … and so on and The population size t hours later would be

Nt = N02t =100(2t)

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
7
(ii) In this case, it is necessary to determine t, such that

Nt = 1600

100(2t) = 1600 (since Nt =100(2t)).

2t = 16 (dividing both sides by 100).

2t = 24 (Noting that 16 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2= 24)

Hence t = 4 hours. Since the bases are same, the two expressions would be equal only if their powers are
equal. In other words, t must be equal to 4.)

Roots

For a positive integer n and real numbers x and y, consider the solution of the equation

n
y =x

1/ n
Now, y=x

1/ n
x can also be expressed as n x , which simply represents the nth root of x. The expression n x is
referred to as the radical.

Special cases

When n = 2 2
x is the square root of x

n=3 3
x is the cube root of x

n=4 4
x is the 4th root of x etc.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
8
Note that n x

(i) When n is even, n x has negative and positive roots when x > 0. For such cases the positive root
is referred to as the principal root.

(ii) n x has no real root when x < 0 and n is even.

(iii) n x has a unique negative root when n is odd and x<0 and a positive root when n is odd and x>0.

(iv) n x is zero when x = 0.

Example

Evaluate the following

(i) 2 16 (ii) 2
-9

(iii) 3 27 (iv) 5
- 32

Solution

(i) 2 16 = 16 1 / 2 = (42) 1/ 2
= 4 2 / 2 = 4, the principal root of 16.

(ii) 2
- 9 = No real roots

(iii) 3 27 = (27) 1 / 3 = (3) 3 / 3 = 3 since 27=3x3x3=33

1/ 5 5/5
(iv) 5
- 32 = (-32) = (-2) =-2 since ( -2) 5 = -32

Rule
If x 0 and m and n are positive integers then

m/n n m
x = (n x )m = x

n m m
x represents the nth root of x or the result of multiplying n x by itself m times.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
9
Scientific Notation

In the world of Science, extremely large numbers and very small numbers are often encountered. Such
numbers can be represented in a compact and simple form using exponents usually expressed as base 10.
For an integer n (n 0), and a constant a where a [1, 10), (a10n) represents one way of expressing a
very large/small number in a compact form. For expressing large numbers, positive integers are used. For
expressing small numbers, negative integers are used. Such a representation is referred to as scientific
notation.

Example

Express the following in scientific notation

(i) 2000 (ii) 93,000,000 (iii) 0.000054

Solution

(i) 2000 = 2 x 103 a = 2, n = 3

(ii) 0.000054 = 5.4 x 10-5 a = 5.4, n = -5

(iii) 93, 000, 000 = 9.3 x 107 a = 9.3, n = 7

Factorial Notation

Mathematicians devise clever ways of representing lengthy operations using compact notations. Consider a
problem of multiplying the integers from 1 to say 100. Writing out such operations is lengthy and is even
unnecessary. So Mathematicians devised what they call Factorial (!) notation for such operations. The
product of the first 100 natural numbers in the Factorial Notation is represented by

100! = 1 x 2 x …x100

In general for any integer n>0


n! = 1 x 2 x …x n.

Note that this notation is simply a compact way expressing the operation and is not the outcome of the
operation. By convention, 0! = 1

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
10
Example

(i) Express 1 x 2 x …x 18 in a compact form

(ii) Expand 25!

Solution
(i) 1 x 2 x …x 18 = 18!

(ii) 25! = 1 x 2 x …x 25.

Summation Notation ( )

A Compact notation for representing addition of many terms based on the Greek letter, (Capital Sigma)
is used extensively both in Mathematics and Statistics. For instance, the sum of the first n natural numbers
is

1 + 2 + ...+ n

And this can be represented in a component form by

n
k
k 1

Here, k is variable which starts at 1 (the bottom suffix) and increases by 1 and terminates at n (the superscript at top).
In general, if x 1 + x 2 + …+ x m represent real numbers, then their sum,
n
x 1 + x 2 + …+ x m = xi
i 1

Here, n is fixed and denotes the number of terms to be added and i is just a variable (it begins at 1,
increases by 1 and terminates at n) and any letter could be used to represent the number of terms or the
subscript.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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Rules
n n n
(i) (A i Bi ) = Ai + Bi
i 1 i 1 i 1
n n
(ii) aA i = a Ai
i 1 i 1
n
(iii) A = nA (this represents the addition of n As)
i 1
Examples

n
Evaluate the following when A i = 100
i 1
n
(1) (2 a) = 2n + an
i 1
n n
(ii) 2A i = 2 A i = 2(100) = 200
i 1 i 1

n n
(iii) (A i 5) = A i + 5n = 100 + 5n = 5(20 + n)
i 1 i1

n
(iv) A i - 4 = 100 – 4= 96
i 1
n n
(v) (A i 10) = A0 + A i + 10(n + 1) = A0+ 110 + 10n = A0 + 10(11 + n)
i 0 i 1

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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The Binomial Coefficient

For x a non-negative integer and n a positive integer, ( nx ) denotes the binomial coefficient which is defined
as

n!
( nx ) =
(n x)! x!

This is also the number of ways of choosing x objects out of a total of n ignoring order.
Note that

(i) x! = 1 * 2 * … *x and

(ii) 0! = 1

(iii) ( nx ) arises when (a + b)n is expanded

(a + b)n = ( n ) a0 bn-0 + ( n ) a1 bn-1 + …+ ( nn ) an bn-n


0 1
n n
= ( x )ax bn-x
x 0

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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Logarithms

A real number y is the logarithm of a positive real number x to base b, where b is a real positive number if
and only if

by =x

Usually y is denoted by log b x and is referred to as the logarithm of the number x to base b.

In the language of exponents, y represents the power that the base, b must be raised to, to yield the
number x.

Example

Determine the logarithm of each of the following.

(i) 8 to base 2

(ii) 16 to base 4

(iii) 81 to base 27

(iv) 5 to base 125

Solution

(i) let y = log 2 8 (thus y is the logarithm of 8 to the base 2).

Now by definition

If y = log 2 8 then this implies that 2y = 8

Since 8 = 2 x 2 x 2 = 23

2y = 8 = 23
Now 2y = 23 only if y = 3, (since the bases of the two quantities are the same, equality
would hold only if the exponents are equal)

Thus, y=log 2 8 = 3

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
14
(ii) Let y = log 4 16

Now by definition

4y= 16

Since 16 = 4 x 4 = 42

4y = 42

Hence y = 2. Thus log 4 16 = 2

(iii) y = log 27 81

Now by definition

27y = 81

Since 27 = 3 x 3 x 3 = 33
And
81 = 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 34

(33)y = 34

33y = 3 4
This implies that 3y = 4
i.e. y = 4/3

log 27 81 = 4/3

(iv) Let y = log 125 5

Hence by definition 125y = 5


Now 125 = 5 x 5 x 5 = 53
Hence 53y = 51

3y = 1
1
y =
3
1
log 125 5 =
3
Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
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Rules

Let b, x and y represent positive real numbers, then

(a) log b (xy) = log b x + log b y

x
(b) log b ( ) = log b x - log b y
y

(c) log b xk = klog b x where k is a real number

Note: log b b = 1 (the log of a number to its own base is 1)


log b 1 = 0 (the log of 1 to a positive real number base is 0)

Change of base

If log b x is given for every positive real number x, then the log c x where c is a positive real number can be
derived by:

log b x
log c x =
log b c

The proof is straight forward and is left as an exercise.

Common Logarithms

The logarithms of some real positive numbers to the base 10 are usually compiled in a tabular form for
convenience of users and published in books and as part of a collection of useful Mathematical Tables. The
tables also include logarithms to the base e ( e = 2.718 28…) which are known as natural logarithms.
However, these days, logarithms to the base 10 or e are readily available through hand held calculators.

log10 x
Note that log e x =
log10e

Where log e x represents the logarithm of x to the base e and is also referred to as the natural logarithm of
x. It is also denoted as ln(x). Log 10 x denotes the logarithm of x to the base 10.

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
16
Worked Example

(i) If log 2 3 = 1.58496 evaluate

a) log 2 (12)
b) log 4 (4.5)
log 2 83
c)
log 4 2 4

Solution

a) log 2 (12) = log 2 ( 4 x 3 ) = log 2 4 + log 2 3 = log 2 22+ log 2 3


= 2 log 2 2 + 1.58496 = 2 + 1.58496 = 3.58496

b) log 4 (4.5) = log 4 ( 9/2 ) = log 4 9 - log 4 2 = log 4 32 - log 4 41/2

= 2log 4 3 –(1/2) log 4 4= 2log 4 3-0.5= log 2 3-0.5=1.58496-0.5=1.08496

log 2 3 log 2 3
(since log 4 3= = )
log 2 4 2

log 2 3 1.58496
Hence log 4 (48) = 2 + =2+ = 2.79248
2 2

log 2 83 log 2 (2 3 ) 3 log 2 2 9 9 log 2 2 9


c) 4
= 1
= 4
= =
log 4 2 2 2 log 4 4 2
log 4 (4 ) 4 log 4 4 2

(ii) If log 5 3 = u and log 5 2 = v, determine the following in terms of u and v.

a) log 5 (75)

b) log 5 (1.5)

c) log 5 (81)

d) log 5 (40)
Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
17
Solution

a) log 5 (75) = log 5 ( 25 x 3 ) = log 5 5 2 + log 5 3


= 2 log 5 5 + log 5 3 = 2 + u

3
b) log 5 (1.5) = log 5 ( ) = log 5 3 - log 5 2 = u – v
2

c) log 5 (81) = log 5 3 4 = 4 log 5 3 = 4u

d) log 5 (40) = log 5 ( 5 x 8 ) = log 5 5 + log 5 8 = 1 + 3v

Isaac Bekele
Department of Food Production
Faculty of Science and Agriculture
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine Campus.
18

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