Language of the Equal Sign
Difference in Meaning and Saying
Think about the equal sign. Let’s first think about the meaning of an equal sign.
Write down all the words you can think of that have the same meaning as the equal sign.
Share your words with a classmate. Write down different words you hear.
Now, write the ways people say this symbol.
One-Word Ways to Say the Equal Sign
There are many different ways to say the equal sign. Let’s begin by learning the one-word ways.
“equals”
The common one-word way to say the equal sign is “equals.” Big surprise! Notice that it must have the final -s on it.
For example,
2 = 2 is said as “two equals two.”
12 = 12 is “12 equals 12.”
20 = 20 “20 equals 20.”
Your Turn–Practice using the word “equals” for the equal sign
“is”
Another one-word way to say the equal sign is to use the word “is.”
For example,
3 = 3 is said as “three is three.”
13 = 13 is “13 is 13.”
30 = 30 “30 is 30.”
Your Turn–Practice using the word “is” for the equal sign
“makes”
The other one-word way to say the equal sign is to use the word “makes.”
For example,
9 = 9 is said as “nine makes nine.”
19 = 19 is “19 makes 19.”
90 = 90 “90 makes 90.”
This way to say the equal sign is common for small children learning math for the first time. Adults will also say it in casual conversations.
Your Turn–Practice using the word “makes” for the equal sign
Multi-word Ways to Say the Equal Sign
“is equal to”
Remember in the video in the Background of the Equal Sign, mathematicians wrote “is equal to” instead of using the equal symbol (=).
People still use this multi-word phrase today.
For example,
8 = 8 is said “eight is equal to eight.”
18 = 18 is “18 is equal to 18.”
80 = 80 “80 is equal to 80.”
Your Turn–Practice using the phrase “is equal to” for the equal sign.
“is equivalent to”
This multi-word phrase is a more formal way to say the equal sign in mathematics.
For example,
42 = 42 is said “42 is equivalent to 42.”
43 = 43 is “43 is equivalent to 43.”
44 = 44 “44 is equivalent to 44.”
Your Turn–Practice using the phrase “is equivalent to” for the equal sign.
“is the same as”
The phrase “is the same as” is casual.
Let’s look at the examples:
51 = 51 “51 is the same as 51”
500 = 500 “500 is the same as 500”
5,000 = 5,000 “5,000 is the same as 5, 000”
Your Turn–Practice using the casual phrase “is the same as” for the equal sign
Some math teachers do not like the short phrase “is the same as.” It is a short way to say the correct phrases that some math teachers prefer.
“is the same amount as” or
“is the same value as.”
Let’s look at the separate examples.
Your Turn–Practice using the formal phrase “is the same amount as” for the equal sign.
Your Turn–Practice using the formal phrase “is the same value as” for the equal sign.
