+
plus sign / addition sign

The plus sign represents:

a. the notion of positive

Any number bigger than zero is a positive number and can be written with or without a plus sign in front of it.

Thus, +5 (plus five) and 5 (five) are the same number.

b. the operation of addition

3 + 5 = 8
three plus five equals eight
five added to three makes eight
three added to five makes eight
if you add five to three you get eight

Addition gives us a sum. In 3 + 5 = 8, the sum is eight.

—
minus sign / subtraction sign

The minus sign represents:

a. the notion of negative

Any number smaller than zero is a negative number and is written with a minus sign in front of it.

-3
minus three

b. the operation of subtraction

8 — 5 = 3
eight minus five equals three
five subtracted from eight equals three
if you subtract five from eight you get three
if you take five from eight you get three

Subtraction gives us a difference. In 8 — 5 = 3, the difference is three.

Examples: 

Physics:

1. Kinematics (Physics): In a kinematics problem, if you see an expression like «s = ut + 0.5at²,» read it as «s equals initial position plus the product of initial velocity and time, minus half times acceleration times the square of time.»
2. Vector Forces (Physics): When analyzing vector forces, if you encounter an equation like «F_net = F1 + F2 — F3,» read it as «net force equals force one plus force two minus force three.»

Chemistry:

1. Chemical Reactions (Chemistry): When balancing a chemical equation like «CH₄ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 2H₂O,» read it as «methane plus two oxygen molecules react to form carbon dioxide plus two water molecules.»
2. Molar Quantities (Chemistry): When calculating molar mass or performing stoichiometric calculations, if you have an equation like «2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O,» read it as «two hydrogen molecules plus one oxygen molecule react to form two water molecules.»

Biology:

1. Genetic Mutations (Biology): When discussing genetic mutations, if you’re describing the replacement of a nucleotide, you might say «Adenine is substituted with Thymine in the DNA sequence.»
2. Population Dynamics (Biology): In a population dynamics context, you might explain the birth rate and death rate relationship as «The birth rate adds to the population while the death rate subtracts from it.»

Computer Science:

1. Binary Arithmetic (Computer Science): In binary arithmetic, when adding binary numbers like «1011 + 1100,» you would read it as «one zero one one plus one one zero zero equals one zero zero one one.»
2. Memory Management (Computer Science): When discussing memory offsets, if you’re adding an offset to a base address, you might say «The base memory address plus the offset gives us the actual memory location.»