Naqt questions
Aristotle is known for being a philosopher, but he was also one of the most famous mathematicians and also studied geology and medicine, among other things. He helped define math entities like point, line, plane, solid, circle, number, and even and odd, and defined concepts like prime numbers. Learn more about Aristotle at Britannica Kids.
Naqt you gotta know mathematicians biography
Archimedes spent his life trying to find math formulas that were related to physics. He worked in geometry, making discoveries about spheres, cylinders, circles, and parabolas. He doubled the number of sides in each polygon and calculated the length of each side. As the number of sides increased, it became a more accurate approximation of a circle.
When the polygon had 96 sides, he could determine pi. Learn more about Archimedes at World History Encyclopedia. Eratosthenes was known for his exact calculation. Both were accurate and became well known during his lifetime. To calculate this, he used the noon shadow at midsummer at one point where the sun was so far away that the rays were parallel, then used the distance between two points on land to calculate the circumference.
He also worked on prime numbers.
Naqt you gotta know mathematicians biography pdf
His Sieve of Eratosthenes , or a way to find the primes smaller than n when n is less than 10,,, is still an important tool in number theory. Learn more about Eratosthenes at World History Encyclopedia. Hipparchus is known first for his astronomy, including creating models for how the sun and moon survive. In math, he developed trigonometry, built trigonometric tables, and solved problems of spherical trigonometry.
Using trigonometry and his theories about the sun and moon, he developed a reliable way to predict solar eclipses. Learn more about Hipparchus at Britannica Kids. He also worked on the areas of quadrilaterals, polygons, and surface and volume of cones, cylinders, prisms, and more shapes. Heron also gave a formula for finding the cube root of a number.
Learn more about Heron of Alexandria at Britannica. Ptolemy is known for applying math to astronomy, like applying theorems of spherical trigonometry to astrological problems. His book The Almagest , is about math and astronomy, even though at the time, people thought the Earth was the center of the universe.
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He was also known for his contributions to trigonometry. His table of the lengths of chords in a circle is the first table of a trigonometric function that we have. Read more about Ptolemy at the World History Encyclopedia. Hypatia is the first female mathematician that we have record of.
She wrote comments on books about geometry and number theory. Learn more about Hypatia at Smithsonian Magazine. It is now generally accepted that they both did, independently. Euclid c. The Elements includes five postulates that describe what is now called Euclidean space the usual geometric space we work in ; the fifth postulate — also called the parallel postulate — can be broken to create spherical and hyperbolic geometries , which are collectively called non-Euclidean geometries.
The Elements also includes a proof that there are infinitely many prime numbers. His Disquisitiones Arithmeticae systematized number theory and stated the fundamental theorem of arithmetic every integer greater than 1 has a prime factorization that is unique notwithstanding the order of the factors. Euclid c.
Archimedes B. C — Mathematician, scientist and inventor. Archimedes made many contributions to mathematics, such as a calculation of pi, geometrical theorems and developing a concept of exponentiation for very large numbers. Ptolemy c. Ptolemy wrote one of the few surviving ancient works on astronomy — the Almagest. Aryabhata c.
Aryabhata was influential in the development of trigonometry. Khayyam wrote an influential work on algebra — Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra Leonardo Pisano Bigollo Italian mathematician. Bigollo is considered the greatest mathematician of the medieval ages. Rene Descartes — French philosopher and mathematician. Descartes made important discoveries in analytical geometry bridging algebra and geometry , calculus and other fields of mathematics.
Naqt you gotta know mathematicians biography summary: Gottfried Leibniz (–, German) is known for his independent invention of calculus and the ensuing priority dispute with Isaac Newton. Most modern calculus notation, including the integral sign and the use of d to indicate a differential, originated with Leibniz.
Pierre de Fermat French lawyer and amateur mathematician. Fermat helped develop infinitesimal calculus. His work in the formation of algorithms forms the foundation of algebra as we know it today. His name in Latin translated to Algorithmi , which became the title of the algebraic procedures featured in his writings. Also known as Leonardo of Pisa, little is known about the life of the great Italian mathematician known as Fibonacci.
However, his mathematical contributions live on in a tremendous way as his famous Fibonacci sequence continues to illuminate the mathematical structures of nature and the natural world. Fun Fact: Fibonacci is credited with introducing the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to Europe, which eventually led to its widespread acceptance, simplifying and unifying mathematical formulas, equations, and computations.
Despite facing incredible adversity as a female mathematician in Paris during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Germain persisted and became one of the most famous mathematicians of all time. Her greatest contributions came in the fields of number theory and elasticity theory. Using a fake male name, she wrote letters about mathematics to famous Germain mathematician and 7 on our list Carl Friedrich Gauss, who would not discover the true identity of his pen-pal colleague until years later.
Often referred to as the Prince of Mathematicians, Carl Friedrich Gauss is one of the most famous mathematicians in history as he made many significant contributions to the study of mathematics including the fields of statistics, differential equations, and number theory. Fun Fact: Gauss was considered an incredibly talented mathematician from a very young age.
Naqt you gotta know mathematicians biography wikipedia
When he was only 3 years old, he successfully spotted and corrected an error his father had made while calculating payrolls! Despite having no formal math education or training, Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician, taught himself complex mathematics and became one of the most influential mathematicians who ever lived. Despite his short life, he is well known for his incredible contributions to the fields of number theory, analysis, and continued fractions.
Fun Fact: Ramanujan believed that his mathematical abilities were inspired by the divine and claimed the Hindu goddess Namagiri would share mathematical formulas and equations with him while he was dreaming. Emmy Noether, a prominent 20th-century German mathematician, is famous for her revolutionary work in the fields of theoretical physics and abstract algebra.
Although she would face tremendous opposition to her pursuit of mathematics because of her gender, she is known today as a true trailblazer for women in STEM. The famous genius, Albert Einstein, is best known for his contributions to the field of theoretical physics, but he made significant contributions to the field of mathematical physics as well, including his groundbreaking theory of relativity, which would forever change the way we think about reality.
Fun Fact: Einstein was a late bloomer in terms of his cognitive abilities. In fact, he did not learn how to properly speak until he was three years old, leading his teachers to believe that he was slow. I love the free activities! Do YOU want free math resources, lesson activities, and puzzles and games for grades in your inbox every week?
Join our mailing list and start getting tons of free stuff! Alan Turing, despite facing rampant homophobia during his time, made foundational contributions to computer science and cryptography.