What does the long curly line mean?

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Sorry to sound incredibly ignorant, but I am...at least in math anyway. What does this symbol: $\int$ mean?

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2 Answers

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This is the symbol for integration. You may have seen it in Calculus. For example, $$ \int x \, dx = \frac{1}{2}x^2 + C $$

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It is the symbol for the Integral; it is a stylized 'S' because the concept of the integral is a related to the Sum, which starts with S. (the mathematical symbol for Sum is a capital sigma, ∑ -- which is S in the traditional Grek alphabet from which mathematics borrows so many symbols.)

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