"left side of the equation" vs "left hand side of the equation"

[Jaakov]

Dear all:

For the equation
term_1 = term_2,
which one is correct English:
- "left side of the equation" or
- "left hand side of the equation"
for term_1? I saw both in literature.

Best,

Jaakov.

[Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)]

In article <mfkg5s$jc4$5...@speranza.aioe.org>, Jaakov

<jaakov_REMOVEIT@DELETEIT_ro.ru> writes:

> For the equation
> term_1 = term_2,
> which one is correct English:
> - "left side of the equation" or
> - "left hand side of the equation"
> for term_1? I saw both in literature.

The first is OK. The second is not. What would also be OK:
"the left-hand side of the equation". Leaving out a dash between two
words which are used as an adjective together is one of the most common
mistakes, also among native speakers.

[Swifty]

On 03/04/2015 09:09, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
> The first is OK. The second is not. What would also be OK:
> "the left-hand side of the equation".

I see a subtly difference between the "left side" and the "left-hand
side" of the equation.

The "left side of the equation" explicitly identifies the part to the
left of the equals sign.

On the other hand, the "left-hand side of the equation" identifies the
part to the left of centre of the equation, which might be quite
different, as in:

x = a + b + c + d + e + f + g + h + i + j + k + l + m + n + o

... I see "e" as lying in the left-hand side of the equation.

I suppose it depends on how rigorously mathematical you are.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/

[Jaakov]

>
> x = a + b + c + d + e + f + g + h + i + j + k + l + m + n + o
>
> ... I see "e" as lying in the left-hand side of the equation.
>
> I suppose it depends on how rigorously mathematical you are.
>

Thank you all!