Question 126398: What is the difference in parentheses versus brackets and when do you use each with regards to interval notation?
Found 2 solutions by ilana, stanbon:
Answer by ilana(307)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Brackets mean the number is included. Parentheses mean it's not. So [4,6) means 4<=x<6, where <= is "less than or equal to". x can be 4, but not 6. I hope that makes sense.
(1,2) means 1 < x < 2. x is between 1 and 2, but cannot be 1 or 2. On a number line, this looks like an open circle on 1 and an open circle on 3 with a line connecting them. [2,3] means 2 <= x <= 3. x is between 2 and 3, and can be 2 or 3. On a number line, this looks like a closed dot on 2 and a closed dot on 3 with a line connecting them. So if I wanted to say 2 < x < 5 I would say x is in the open interval (2,5). If I wanted to say 4 <= x <= 8, you would say x is in the closed interval [4,8]. What I did at the beginning was use both at the same time. If x is in the interval [4,6), then x is still between 4 and 6, but x can be 4 but not 6. I hope that clarified it a little.
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! There is no difference in meaning; they both can be used to
group terms or separate factors.
Usually brackets are built around parentheses but it could be
just the opposite.
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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