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History of Math Final Debra
Exam Number 1
20
Mathematics
Undergraduate 1
12/07/2012

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Cards

Term
Mathematics
Definition
This body of knowledge involves the study of issues of quantitative or spatial nature.
Term
Tally
Definition
This is the earliest technique for visibly expressing the ideas of numbers.
Term
Grouping
Definition
This was a noteworthy improvement on counting by ones.
Term
Egypt
Definition
By 3500 B.C. they had a fully developed number system that would allow counting to continue indefinitely.
Term
Positional
Definition
This technique assigns different values to symbols based on their location in a numerical representation.
Term
Cipher
Definition
This technique uses a single mark to represent a collection of like symbols.
Term
Babylon
Definition
Cuneiform script was a natural consequence of these people choosing to write on clay.
Term
Mathematics
Definition
It is the oldest and most continuously pursued of the exact sciences.
Term
False Position
Definition
This is the oldest and most universal procedure of solving linear equations.
Term
Egypt
Definition
In their mathematics everything is stated in terms of specific numbers, and nowhere does one find a trace of what might properly be called a theorem.
Term
Egyptians
Definition
They had a symbol for "that which is unknown" is very close to an "X"
Term
Greeks
Definition
Math for this group seems to have been a detached intellectual subject for the connoisseur.
Term
Pythagoreans
Definition
Their doctrine was a curious mixture of cosmic philosophy and number mysticism. Their school was more of a fraternity.
Term
Quadratix
Definition
It is the first example of a curve that could not be drawn by the required straightedge and compass. It had to be drawn point by point.
Term
Alexander the Great
Definition
After he conquered the known world, the scene of mathematical activity shifted back to Egypt.
Term
Alexandria
Definition
The library of this city housed the largest collection of Greeks work in existence.
Term
Irrational Numbers
Definition
These shook the foundations of Pythagorean doctrine since they maintained "everything is number."
Term
Geometry
Definition
The Greeks insistence of working entirely in this area of mathematics retarded progress in algebra of many centuries.
Term
Eratosthenes
Definition
He observed: "If it were not for the vast extent of the Atlantic Sea one might sail for Iberia (Spain) to India along one and the same parallel.
Term
Ptolemy
Definition
His error int he distance between Europe and Asia fortified Columbus' belief that Columbus had reached India
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