Symbol question.?

Question

In some symols in my book there are little signs like ^ on top of the O's. what is the "hat" called? thx

TYVM. that's what my trig teacher told me it was, the "hat" thing.. anyways i'll mark you with best answer in 4hrs or whatever lol

Answer 1

actually it is 'caret' rather than 'carat'
and the more common name for the symbol, especially when used linguistically, is the 'circumflex'
it is also known as a 'hat' and an 'uppen'

for more detailed information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumflex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caret

Answer 2

I believe it is properly a "carat". In spoken mathematics, it is usualy refered to as a "hat".