Algebra Question: What do the brackets [ and ] mean in a math expression? For example, f(x) [2(x-1)]^2 - 4Please provide a reason too
The square brackets act just like parentheses in math and are used around terms that already include parentheses. It's just easier to read when you don't have too many sets of parentheses. f(x) [2(x-1)]^2 - 4 (2(x-1))^2 - 4 See how jumbled the two sets of parentheses make the problem when they're included?
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This Site Might Help You. RE: Algebra Question: What do the brackets [ and ] mean in an expression? Algebra Question: What do the brackets [ and ] mean in a math expression? For example, f(x) [2(x-1)]^2 - 4 Please provide a reason too
They mean the same as ordinary brackets ( and ). (Technically these are parentheses, but informally we often call them brackets too.) We just use different styles to make it easier to see what's going on when there are lots of brackets in an expression. We also sometimes use braces { and } for the same reason. It just makes it easier to see where the matching bracket is. The example you have isn't too hard to follow with all parentheses: (2(x-1))^2 - 4 but it's much easier to read something like [1 + (x^2+2x+5) (x + 3/(x-1))] / [(3x+1)^2 - (4x-7)] than the equivalent (1 + (x^2+2x+5) (x + 3/(x-1))) / ((3x+1)^2 - (4x-7)). Be aware, however, that in some contexts different types of brackets do have different uses. We normally use braces to define piecewise functions, though the layout's different there anyway. In calculus, we normally use the square brackets [ ] to indicate evaluation of a function at the endpoints of a given interval, when doing a definite integral.
