Am I making up a maths term?

[hariseldonscalculator]

So I recall from being taught maths that you describe an expression in brackets as follows,

2x(y+1)

2x upon y+1

so upon means enclose in brackets

English DH says that he has never heard of this and that it’s wrong. Have I misremembered this? Or was it a rural thing?

News to me too.

I've definitely heard it said like that 🙂

Interesting @MadeinBelfast. I went to school in Lisburn so maybe it’s an Antrim thing?

i am English and have a maths degree but that is new to me.

Could be! I've heard it said that way a lot although to me the upon means 'multiply by' rather than 'put in brackets'.

In that example above you do multiply them because it’s in brackets so same thing. I shall tell him it’s an Antrim thing.

I went to school in Belfast and never once heard it expressed like that! Pretty sure that's something that's come from yourself somehow. 🤷‍♂️

Old thread, but went to school in Co Armagh/Down and used "upon" early 90s.

Well I am from Co Armagh but went to school in Lisburn so maybe that’s where it’s from?

2x upon y+1

Would be 2x/(y+1) surely

Are you sure it wasn't something like 2x/(y+1)? I'm English, here I'm pretty sure I've heard 'upon' used to mean 'divided by' , which makes some sense the way division is often written but obviously the opposite mathematically!

I learnt it that way but brackets were “into” and division was “upon”

in your example it would have been 2x into y+1
2x upon y+1 would be 2x/y+1

I remember it as upon, open bracket = multiply by.

Probably teachers did DipEd/PGCE in same place (UU)

Am English, teach and work in maths, and I've never heard of upon used that way. I think I have heard it used to express fractions: 2 upon 4, 2 over 4: are both the fraction: 2/4. And this can be understood as division: the result of dividing 2 by 4.

Its ages (and ages) since I did sums but surely
2x(y+1) is 2xy + 2x
Which is different to 2x upon (y+1)

From Dublin, mathematician - I've heard it but wouldn't use it myself.

Have never seen upon to mean division, it's making me twitchy for some reason.

OH (physicist) says humpty dumpty would say that when he uses a word it means whatever you want it to mean.
If you've been taught that upon means enclose in brackets then fair enough but he would say that 2 upon 3 is two thirds
2

• = 2/3

3 And not 2(3) But then again it simply depends on how you've been taught.

I’m glad that some others have heard as it means that I didn’t just make it up! My grandfather called homework ‘ecker’ so I suppose it could just be something like that.

Ecker is just short for exercises. Ecca in Cork.