[General] How to write this in math shorthand

Dear teachers,

Please help me write the following text in math:

X subscript n equals X subscript zero times 2 to the minus n over 12 power

Thank you very much.

chiphu said:

Dear teachers,

Please help me write the following text in math:

X subscript n equals X subscript zero times 2 to the minus n over 12 power

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

x0 = xn * 2^(-n/12)

This editor apparently doesn't do subscripts or superscripts. You'll have to imagine the first 0 and n subscripted (moved down). The ^ means "to the power of" in plain text, but you can delete it and superscript everything following it .

Raymott said:

x0 = xn * 2^(-n/12)

This editor apparently doesn't do subscripts or superscripts. You'll have to imagine the first 0 and n subscripted (moved down). The ^ means "to the power of" in plain text, but you can delete it and superscript everything following it .

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, sir. I got it.

By the way, here comes another one: X sub n equals a times 2 to the minus n over 12 power plus b

Based on your help, I wrote it on MS Word and does it display as correctly as this?

I don't think that is what you want: the "=a" part should not be subscript. Also, use "×" not "*". Only use "*" when you can't use "×" or ".".

So: a.2 or a×2 or even 2a, but try to avoid 2*a.

EDIT:

Actually, without parentheses (these things), we can't be sure exactly how to write your statement but I interpreted it in the same way Raymott did.

Munch said:

I don't think that is what you want: the "=a" part should not be subscript.

Click to expand...

Ah, no, it's not what I want and you're right, I took it wrong. As a matter of fact, it tells us to customize the first equation (at post#1) by replacing X subscript zero with a and add b at the end. So, the correct modified equation should be:

Munch said:

Also, use "×" not "*". Only use "*" when you can't use "×" or ".".

So: a.2 or a×2 or even 2a, but try to avoid 2*a.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your tip. I corrected it.

Munch said:

EDIT:

Actually, without parentheses (these things), we can't be sure exactly how to write your statement but I interpreted it in the same way Raymott did.

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm confused about this, too. According to the given fact (X sub n equals a times 2 to the minus n over 12 power plus b), I don't know if it's compulsory to put parentheses around a x 2^(-n/12). If so then we got: X0 = (a x 2^(-n/12)) + b

I'm totally relying on your comprehension and knowledge. Please!

chiphu said:

Yes, I'm confused about this, too. According to the given fact (X sub n equals a times 2 to the minus n over 12 power plus b), I don't know if it's compulsory to put parentheses around a x 2^(-n/12). If so then we got: X0 = (a x 2^(-n/12)) + b

I'm totally relying on your comprehension and knowledge. Please!

Click to expand...

I only used parentheses because I had to write it without markups.
X0 = (a x 2^(-n/12)) + b
Firstly, the outer parentheses are unnecessary because the b is added last in any case.
X0 = a x 2^(-n/12) + b
But you do need these, because 2^(-n/12) + b is not 2^(-n/12 + b)
and 2^-n/12 + b is ambiguous.
This is something that would be best discussed with your teacher.

Tdol said:

x[sub]0[/sub] = x[sub]n[/sub] * 2[sup](-n/12)[/sup]

Click to expand...

That's what I tried first, but it doesn't display for me - I just see all the tags. Does it work for you?

EDIT: I guess Tdol deleted his/her post and is trying again.

Raymott said:

x0 = xn * 2^(-n/12)

This editor apparently doesn't do subscripts or superscripts. You'll have to imagine the first 0 and n subscripted (moved down). The ^ means "to the power of" in plain text, but you can delete it and superscript everything following it .

Click to expand...

I'll see if we can get the superscript/subscript tags added.

Munch said:

That's what I tried first, but it doesn't display for me - I just see all the tags. Does it work for you?

EDIT: I guess Tdol deleted his/her post and is trying again.

Click to expand...

No; I was testing. They need to be added; once added they should work fine.

This is a test of [sup]Superscript[/sup] and [sub]Subscript[/sub] text.

There you go! ;-)

Thanks- [sub]nice[/sub] [sup]one[/sup]

If you write [sub]subscript[/sub] or [sup]superscript[/sup] you will get [sub]subscript[/sub] and [sup]superscript[/sup] as a result.

Raymott said:

Firstly, the outer parentheses are unnecessary because the b is added last in any case.
X0 = a x 2^(-n/12) + b
This is something that would be best discussed with your teacher.

Click to expand...

I guess this reply is good enough for me to end the confusion. Thank you so very much again, sir.

Thanks for all your helps. Really appreciated.

chiphu said:

Dear teachers,

Please help me write the following text in math:

X subscript n equals X subscript zero times 2 to the minus n over 12 power

Thank you very much.

Click to expand...

I've read the replies to your question and the resulting discussion.
But I still cannot understand the point!
What is the reason for your question? I mean, what exactly is the context?

Your original text does not have a unique version in math symbols. There exists more than one math formula corresponding to your text with very different meanings. Even the version with the symbol "=a" in the subscript may be correct.
Also the math symbols you use is a matter of convention. For instance, there are certain computer programs which accept "9**3" as input while others would produce an input error, demanding the expression to be written as "9^3".
Also expressions like "9*3" are very common in computer programs to represent multiplication.

Concluding, you need context not just in English but also mathematical context.

Abstract Idea said:

I've read the replies to your question and the resulting discussion.
But I still cannot understand the point!
What is the reason for your question? I mean, what exactly is the context?
...
Concluding, you need context not just in English but also mathematical context.

Click to expand...

Oh nevermind. The matter or what you called, context, was dealt pretty good ten days ago, sir. All I wanted was how to write the text, or the "spoken" equation, in math, and I was satisfied enough with the replies.

I'm gonna pay more attention to verbalization for what I need to get help with next time, if I have time to do so. Thank you, anyway.

Abstract Idea said:

Your original text does not have a unique version in math symbols. There exists more than one math formula corresponding to your text with very different meanings. Even the version with the symbol "=a" in the subscript may be correct.

Click to expand...

I agree and I mentioned this up-thread, but in this case there was one most likely interpretation.

Abstract Idea said:

Also the math symbols you use is a matter of convention. For instance, there are certain computer programs which accept "9**3" as input while others would produce an input error, demanding the expression to be written as "9^3".
Also expressions like "9*3" are very common in computer programs to represent multiplication.

Click to expand...

Yes, computer programs use different characters because of the limitations of keyboards and character sets, but there exist fairly well established conventions for writing mathematical statements. I would not expect to see * for multiplication or ^ for exponentiation in a mathematics text book, for example.