In the city-state of Syracuse, Sicily a Greek mathematician who would soon make history was born: Archimedes From his birth to his adulthood, he proved just how much of a difference one man could make. Through the use of science and mathematics, Archimedes was able to leave a major impact on ancient society.
During his youth, Archimedes was an ambitious learner. His father, Phidias, would make Archimedes solve numerous math problems. He solved most of them correctly, proving to his father that he was worthy of a solid education (Zannos 21). He studied in Alexandria, Egypt under the guidance of Euclid. Besides math, Phidias would often take Archimedes for walks at night. During those walks, Archimedes was intrigued by the stars of the night sky (Zannos 17). Was this a sign for the future?
Once he grew up, there is no doubt that he was a savior for ancient times. One of his most famous inventions, which is still used today, was called the Archimedes’ Screw. Invented around 250 BCE, this device was beneficial to different parts of the world in different ways. For example, people in Egypt used this to irrigate their fields while people in Spain used it to empty water from mines. On ships, this device was used to empty out water (Zannos 24). The process of working it was not complex at all. This tool consists of a spiral that is located within a cylindrical shaped object. One side of that cylinder is put into the water. With the use of a cranky, this spiral turns and water leaves from the top side of the cylinder (Zannos 25).
One of the most well-known events about Archimedes was his “Eureka!” moment. One day, Archimedes went into his bathtub. When he went in, he made a surprising discovery. “What Archimedes had realized was th...
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...o Mathematics and Science as well as help his city. His city fought off the Romans for three years, but then it all crumbled. Still, Sicilians will never forget the man who assisted them so much.
Works Cited
Cook, James Wyatt. "Archimedes." Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE49&iPin=EAncL0054&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 17, 2011).
Calinger, Ronald S. "Archimedes." The World Book Encyclopedia. ed. 2008.
Gow, Mary. Archimedes: Mathematical Genius of the Ancient World. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2005.
Hoffman, Paul. Archimedes' Revenge: the Joys and Perils of Mathematics. New York: W.W.Norton & Company, 1988.
Zannos, Susan. The Life and Times of Archimedes. Hockessin, DE: Mitchell Lane, 2005.
One source of this interest in method was ancient mathematics. The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements was a model of knowledge and deductive method. But how had all this been achieved? Archimedes had made many remarkable discoveries. How had he come to make these discoveries? The method in which the results were pr...
One of the most well known contributors to math from Greece would be Archimedes. He
in 212 B.C. at the age of 75 in Syracuse. It is said that he was killed
Plato. "Phaedrus." The Works of Plato. Trans. B. Jowett. New York: The Dial Press, n.d.
"Plato." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Volume I. 6th ed. NY: W.W. Norton and Co., 1992. 726-746.
Cheney, Sheldon. The Age of Reason In Greece: Pythagoras and Plato. Baltimore,Md: Kessinger Publishing, 2008.
...onians for are the calendar, units of measurement including length, volume, and weight, the 360 degree circle, knowledge of lunar eclipses, square roots, and exponents. Obviously, the Babylonians were a fascinating people, and studying about them offers many insights into their culture. It is so important for modern people to look back on the contributions of this amazing society and to ponder what can be learned from them and their inventions. Today’s society and mathematical understanding would not be nearly as advanced if it had not been for the Babylonians. The people of today are forever indebted to them. Their achievements in mathematics are astounding to modern minds because we assume that such mathematical concepts are more modern in origin. But the proof is there, on those tablets, the ones baked in the Sun. Math in ancient Babylon was advanced indeed.
Born in the Netherlands, Daniel Bernoulli was one of the most well-known Bernoulli mathematicians. He contributed plenty to mathematics and advanced it, ahead of its time. His father, Johann, made him study medicine at first, as there was little money in mathematics, but eventually, Johann gave in and tutored Daniel in mathematics. Johann treated his son’s desire to lea...
Euclid and Archimedes are two of the most important scientists and mathematicians of all time. Their achievements and discoveries play a pivotal role in today’s mathematics and sciences. A lot of the very basic principles and core subjects of mathematics, physics, engineering, inventing, and astronomy came from the innovations, inventions, and discoveries that were made by both Euclid and Archimedes.
The simplest forms of equations in algebra were actually discovered 2,200 years before Mohamed was born. Ahmes wrote the Rhind Papyrus that described the Egyptian mathematic system of division and multiplication. Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, Erasasth, and other great mathematicians followed Ahmes (“Letters”). Although not very important to the development of algebra, Archimedes (212BC – 281BC), a Greek mathematician, worked on calculus equations and used geometric proofs to prove the theories of mathematics (“Archimedes”).
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Burton, D. (2011). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction. (Seventh Ed.) New York, NY. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The 17th Century saw Napier, Briggs and others greatly extend the power of mathematics as a calculator science with his discovery of logarithms. Cavalieri made progress towards the calculus with his infinitesimal methods and Descartes added the power of algebraic methods to geometry. Euclid, who lived around 300 BC in Alexandria, first stated his five postulates in his book The Elements that forms the base for all of his later Abu Abd-Allah ibn Musa al’Khwarizmi, was born abo...
Euclid, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, lived from 323-283 BC. He was a famous Greek mathematician, often referred to as the ‘Father of Geometry”. The dates of his existence were so long ago that the date and place of Euclid’s birth and the date and circumstances of his death are unknown, and only is roughly estimated in proximity to figures mentioned in references around the world. Alexandria was a broad teacher that taught lessons across the world. He taught at Alexandria in Egypt. Euclid’s most well-known work is his treatise on geometry: The Elements. His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the source textbook for teaching mathematics on different grade levels. His geometry work was used especially from the time of publication until the late 19th and early 20th century Euclid reasoned the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry, which came from a small set of axioms on the Elements. Euclid was also famous for writing books using the topic on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and rigor.
Euclid of Alexandria was born in about 325 BC. He is the most prominent mathematician of antiquity best known for his dissertation on mathematics. He was able to create “The Elements” which included the composition of many other famous mathematicians together. He began exploring math because he felt that he needed to compile certain things and fix certain postulates and theorems. His book included, many of Eudoxus’ theorems, he perfected many of Theaetetus's theorems also. Much of Euclid’s background is very vague and unknown. It is unreliable to say whether some things about him are true, there are two types of extra information stated that scientists do not know whether they are true or not. The first one is that given by Arabian authors who state that Euclid was the son of Naucrates and that he was born in Tyre. This is believed by historians of mathematics that this is entirely fictitious and was merely invented by the authors. The next type of information is that Euclid was born at Megara. But this is not the same Euclid that authors thought. In fact, there was a Euclid of Megara, who was a philosopher who lived approximately 100 years before Euclid of Alexandria.