Answer:
Imagine we are to express [ a , b ] in set notation
A = [ a , b ] , then A = { x ∈ R / a ≤ x ≤ b }
In this notation we define the characteristics of all x belonging to this set A ....x must be greater or equal to a and simultaneously smaller or equal to b...
Interval notation is other way to say the same but assuming that means the extreme a is IN the interval and means extreme a is not.