Why use the capital sigma symbol in summation?

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Why use the capital sigma symbol in summation?

2007-08-15 19:27:13 · 3 answers · asked by AJL 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics

3 answers

Because sigma is equivalent to English letter S.

2007-08-15 19:39:50 · answer #1 · answered by bilbo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋

so that everyone in the mathematics community knows what you are talking about. It is the symbol for summation. You might as well ask why use the greek letter pi to indicate the relationship between the circumference and diameter of a circle.

2007-08-16 17:44:31 · answer #2 · answered by trogwolf 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Standardization. â« is usually reserved for summation of infinitesimals (integration). I've seen S used for discrete sums, also. All of these are the capital S in some language (Greek, German, and English or "Romance")

2007-08-16 02:45:18 · answer #3 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋