2. INTRODUCTION
To a large extent, mathematics is the language of
science. The accuracy of predictions depends on the accuracy of
the measurements and computations used in experimentation.
A calculation is a deliberate process that transforms one or
more inputs into one or more results, with variable change.
3. Indefinite Articles
For students of English as a second language, the
use of the articles may be very confusing. The
indefinite articles (a and an)* are used differently
in English than in some languages. The most
important rules are:
1. Plural nouns never take the indefinite article.
A seismograph is a device for measuring an
earthquake. (singular)
Seismographs are devices for measuring
earthquakes. (plural)
4. 2. Some nonplural nouns take indefinite articles
and some do not. Nouns that are countable in
English take indefinite articles when they are
singular. Nouns that are not countable in
English do not take indefinite articles.
a telescope, an electrode, a leaf (countable)
copper, chemistry, oil, pollution (not
countable)
5. 3. Some nouns used frequently in scientific
writing can be countable or not countable,
depending on how they are used.
sound (in general) or a sound (a particular
sound)
glass (the substance) or a glass (the kind we
drink from)
color (in general) or a color (such as red or
blue)
6. Definite Articles
The definite article (the) may be used with plural nouns and with
either countable or uncountable single nouns. Some common uses of
the definite article in scientific English are :
1.To specify or refer to something that has already been
mentioned (Notice that the is used the second and all succeding times a
noun is mentioned)
In 1986 there was an accident at a nuclear reactor in
Chernobyl in the Soviet Union, causing the spread of dangerous
radiation.
The reactor was shut down. The accident awakened
7. 2. To refer to something that is unique
a planet, the earth
an era, the Middle Ages
3. To refer to something specific
The doctor performed an operation (general)
The doctor performed the bone narrow transplant
operation he was famous for. (Specific)
4. To express superlatives
the heaviest element, the most difficult task
8. 5. With ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, last, and
the like)
the nineteenth century
the ninety-fourth element
the last eclipse
6. With a noun that is followed by an of phrase
the theory of relativity
the atomic number of oxygen
the discovery of penicillin
Note : The definite article is never used with names of people and
is only used with the names of certain places