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MA 330WX: History of Mathematics

Assignment I

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Image courtesy of Famous Mathematicians

This library assignment is designed to further your knowledge about an individual mathematician while allowing you to improve your writing skills. You will need to write a short paper on a mathematician and also a sort fact sheet on this mathematician which will be handed out to the class to be used on exams.

Paper

You should write a short two-page biography on your assigned individual. Include information about early education and background to include interesting information such as:

  • the cultural background (cultural differences could be due to location or time period)
  • contributions to mathematics as well as other field (major works, theorems, etc.)
  • whatever other information you have found that is of interest (anecdotes)

You must supply references on your sources as part of the intent of this exercise is for you to learn to deal with citations. Naturally this biography must be typed (12-point font, double spaced). Please submit an electronic copy on Canvas. Your paper will be assigned to another student for comments. It is expected that some students will be asked to resubmit this paper.

Mathematicians

  • Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi
  • Isaac Barrow 
  • Brahmagupta (7th Century) 
  • Girolamo Cardano 
  • *Rene Descartes 
  • *Pierre de Fermat 
  • Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) 
  • Thomas Harriot 
  • Johannes Kepler 
  • Umar Khayyami (Khayyam) 
  • John Napier 
  • Blaise Pascal 
  • Nicolo Tartaglia 
  • Francois Viete 
  • John Wallis

* Focus on the individual’s contributions to calculus

 

For Class: Pythagorean Theorem in real life: see video below.