SME 430: HISTORY OF MATH

Week 3: Zero and Fractions

1
 Itinerary
Announcements

Biographies

Timeline

Finish Activity (15) 4:45-5:00

Seminar - Discussion & Presentation (20) 5:00-6:00

Break

Egyptian Fractions Activity

2
 Announcements

Biographies are all on the

ANGEL site.

We’ll be doing grading this

week. We’ll email you once
the first sets of grades are in
so that you can check to make
sure you see it in ANGEL.

3
BIOGRAPHIES
Aristotle, Aryabhata, Fibonacci

4
ARISTOTLE

5
What do you know about Aristotle?

6
 “We are what we
repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is
not an act, but a
habit.”
7
“The whole is more than the
sum of its parts.”

Thoughts?
8
DISCLAIMER

9
 Brief History
- Born in 384 B.C. to Nicomachus and Phaestis.
- His Father was a court physician to the Macedonian Royal Family.
- Helped to foster his interest in science!
- Parents died by the age of ten.
- Went to live with Proxenus (uncle of family friend?) who sent
him to Plato’s Academy.
- Remained at The Academy for twenty years, studying and teaching a
multitude of subjects.
- Left The Academy for reasons philosophical differences and political
controversies.
- Moved to Assos and married Pythias. It was here that he led
a philosophy and science group.
- Forced to flee Assos because of a Persian attack.

10
 Brief History Continued
• Moved to Macedonia and became a member of the
Macedonian Royal Court to teach Alexander, the son of
King Phillip of Macedonia.
– Alexander later became Alexander the Great and he knew about the
harsh terms ended his experience at The Academy.
– Encouraged Aristotle to begin his own school, The Lyceum.
• The knowledge and teachings of Aristotle have been found from the notes
left at the Lyceum.
• Continued to invest much of his life teaching here!
• In 323 B.C Alexander the Great died leaving the people of
Athens to rebel against the Macedonian rule.
– As a result, Aristotle fled to Euboea and died shortly thereafter.

11
 Important Contributions to Math
• Many of his contributions to math are rooted in his
science and philosophy background.
– Believed in the importance of definitions.
• Contributed his own logic to Euclid’s development of
the Elements.
• Looked at Infinity in two ways; potential infinity and
actual infinity.
• Studied many other topics under the math umbrella.
– Arithmetic, Time, Measurement, etc…

12
 Three Important Facts
A lot of the knowledge and information that he taught
was found in the notes that were left behind in The
Lyceum.

Of the people in his life, it was his father and Plato

that seemed to capture his interest in the sciences.

Science and philosophy were the driving forces

behind his contributions to mathematics.

13
Aristotle’s Word of Wisdom
(Among the Many Others)

Aristotle believed that “man’s goal is

to achieve personal happiness and
personal pride by using his
intellectual ability to the

FULLEST!”
14
 Work Cited
Aristotle Quotations. ThinkExist. Copyright ® ThinkExist 1999-2010. http://
thinkexist.com/quotes/aristotle/4.html
Aristotle (384 B.C. - 322 B.C.). 2006.
http://www.realliteraturedir.com/author-A-7.html
Berlinghoff, William and Gouvea, Fernando. Math through the Ages: A Gentle History
for Teachers and Others Expanded Edition. Oxton House Publishers and The
Mathematical Association of America. 2004.
Philosophers on Mathematics: Overview. Aristotle. 31 March, 1995.
http://www.rbjones.com/rbjpub/philos/maths/faq006.htm
Plato and Aristotle. The Plato and Aristotle-History of Astrology. 1991-2009. http://
images.google.com/Plato-Aristotle-History-of-Astrology.html
School of Champions. Kurtus, Ron. Aristotle. 5 April, 2003.
http://www.school-for-champions.com/biographies/aristotle.htm
Stanford Encyclopedia for Philosophy. Mendell, Henry. 2004.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-mathematics/

15
TIMELINE
300 A.D. - 450 A.D.

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Major World Events
300 AD – 450 AD

Emily Stall
Becca Moore
Kristina Williams

17
 301 AD

http://www.state.gov/cms_images/map_armenia_flag.jpg

Armenia is the first state to officially

adopt Christianity
18
 313 AD

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://orthodoxwiki.org/thumb.php%3Ff%3DLabarum.jpg%26width%
3D180&imgrefurl=http://orthodoxwiki.org/Edict_of_Milan&usg=__11C- http://gospelgifs.com/clips/clipz2/images/crss001.gif
X63Zmq0gO9ILR2WgMTNBNbA=&h=216&w=180&sz=10&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=YUkI3-
NhTuHFFM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dedict%2Bof%2Bmilan%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%
26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

Edict of Milan – Constantine tolerates

Christianity in Roman Empire
19
 330 AD

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/maps/cople-col.jpg

Constantinople becomes capital of the

Roman Empire
20
 335 AD

http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/constantine.jpg

Constantine enacted rules

against the Jews
21
 350 AD

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/7071/
hunsiegechroniconpictumws5.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php%3Ft%
3D190768&usg=__HOAmFMdUXXC9XGZLankqtA-1O8I=&h=642&w=1159&sz=176&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=7l
nOHGVQeVU9QM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhuns%2Binvade%2Bpersia%26hl%3Den%26client%
3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

Huns invade Persia

22
362 AD (June 17 )
th

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/08/17/SYRIA,%20lebanon%20MAP.gif

Edict bans Christians from

teaching in Syria
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 395 AD

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Partition_of_the_Roman_Empire_in_395_AD.png

Roman Empire is permanently divided

after Theodosius’s death
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 400 AD

http://ronrik.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/ink2.jpg

Stable form of ink is developed with iron-

salts, nutgalls, and gum
25
 405 AD

http://www.catchthecrawfords.com/Armenian-Alphabet.jpg

Armenian alphabet is developed

26
 425 AD

http://freenet-homepage.de/Staufer/byzanz/images/port-TheodosiusII-Louvre.jpg

University is founded by Theodosius in

Constantinople
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 431 AD

http://mollyscafeistanbul.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/palenque2.jpg

Mayan dynasty arose in Palenque and

began trading with communities
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 449 AD

http://www.stclairresearch.com/images/513px-Britain_peoples600.png

Saxons and Angles invade Britain

29
 References
 MultiEducator, Inc. . (2000). History central: 300-400 AD.
Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://
www.historycentral.com/dates/300ad.html
 Ohio State University. (2010). Timeline - ancient history: 12,000
BC to 500 AD. Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://
ehistory.osu.edu/world/TimeLineDisplay.cfm?Era_id=4
 Ratnikas , A. (n.d.). Timelines of history: 300 AD to 599 AD.
Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://timelines.ws/
0300AD_599AD.HTML

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MATH HISTORY TIMELINE
300 A.D. - 450 A.D.

Pappus (~290-~350) - Wrote "Synagoge", handbook covering whole field of Greek mathematics
Serenus (~300-~360) - Wrote 2 treatises, On the Section of a Cylinder/Cone
Theon (~335-~405) - Member of Museum, Commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest & Euclid
Hypatia(~370-415) - Lecturer on Mathem

300 A. D. 350 A.D. 400

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 MATH HISTORY TIMELINE
300 A.D. - 450 A.D.

ok covering whole field of Greek mathematics ~400 AD: Indian mathematicians move from Greek-like number
Section of a Cylinder/Cone system to a Babylonian-style system
ber of Museum, Commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest & Euclid's Works
Hypatia(~370-415) - Lecturer on Mathematics & Philosophy, aided Theon with his work
Proclus (411-485) - Head of Plato's Academy, Commentary
Domninus (~420-~480) - Wrote "Manual of Intr
Zu Chongzhi (429-501) - Creation o

50 A.D. 400 A. D. 450 A.D.

31
 MATH HISTORY TIMELINE
300 A.D. - 450 A.D.

D: Indian mathematicians move from Greek-like number

o a Babylonian-style system

phy, aided Theon with his work

Proclus (411-485) - Head of Plato's Academy, Commentary on Other Mahtematical Works
Domninus (~420-~480) - Wrote "Manual of Introductory Arithmetic", study of numbers, means, and proportion
Zu Chongzhi (429-501) - Creation of Improved Chinese calendar, and approximated pi to 6 decimal places

450 A.D.

31
 Number Systems Activity

Discuss last two methods from last week’s activity - Egyptian

Multiplication & Russian Multiplication

Why do these methods work?

32
 Discussion Questions

How has zero evolved in mathematics and as a number?

Why was there a need for zero?

How was zero named in different cultures?

What new mathematics became possible with each of these changes

in conceptions of zero?

33
 Discussionb Questions
(Cont’d)

How have fractions evolved in mathematics?

Why was there a need for fractions?

How were fractions described and used in different cultures?

What is the difference between our current use of fractions and the
unit fraction approach?

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Discussion Questions (Cont’d)

35
 Discussion Questions (Cont’d)

What are some of the logical difficulties that arise when you attempt to
define 0/0 to be 1 or 0?

35
 Discussion Questions (Cont’d)

What are some of the logical difficulties that arise when you attempt to
define 0/0 to be 1 or 0?

Imagine a teacher shows her students a shortcut for dividing single digits
by 9. She says that all you have to do is to write the numerator as a
repeating decimal (for example, 1/9=.1 repeating, that is 0.1111111...,
and 4/9=.4 repeating, that is 0.4444444...). A student raises their hand
and asks if that means that 9/9=.9 repeating. A different students says
that this is impossible because 9/9 has to be equal 1. What would say to
these two students?

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TAKE A BREAK
Be Back in 10 Minutes

36
CALENDAR FUN

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 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...

37
 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...
When did most people celebrate the new millennium?

37
 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...
When did most people celebrate the new millennium?
If someone was born on June 1st, 10 B.C., How old are
they on June 1st, 10 A.D.?

37
 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...
When did most people celebrate the new millennium?
If someone was born on June 1st, 10 B.C., How old are
they on June 1st, 10 A.D.?
Dionysius Exiguus in approximately 525 A.D. used math to
calculate the year of Jesus’s birth and called that 1 anno
Domini, or the first year of Our Lord. (It’s mostly agreed
now that Jesus was actually born in 4 B.C.)

37
 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...
When did most people celebrate the new millennium?
If someone was born on June 1st, 10 B.C., How old are
they on June 1st, 10 A.D.?
Dionysius Exiguus in approximately 525 A.D. used math to
calculate the year of Jesus’s birth and called that 1 anno
Domini, or the first year of Our Lord. (It’s mostly agreed
now that Jesus was actually born in 4 B.C.)
Attempt to reconcile Roman solar calendar and Jewish
lunar calendar.

37
 CALENDAR FUN
Consider this...
When did most people celebrate the new millennium?
If someone was born on June 1st, 10 B.C., How old are
they on June 1st, 10 A.D.?
Dionysius Exiguus in approximately 525 A.D. used math to
calculate the year of Jesus’s birth and called that 1 anno
Domini, or the first year of Our Lord. (It’s mostly agreed
now that Jesus was actually born in 4 B.C.)
Attempt to reconcile Roman solar calendar and Jewish
lunar calendar.
There is no year zero. Not surprising considering Rome at
the beginning of the Dark Ages. No Roman numeral for 0.
37
 ARISTOTLE REVISITED

Aristotle’s philosophy
claimed there was no
such thing as the
infinite or the void.

Aristotle was a
teacher of Alexander
the Great

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ALEXANDER THE GREAT’S
EMPIRE (334-323 B.C.)

39
THE HEIGHT OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE (96 A.D. - 180 A.D.)

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 WHERE?

When I say India, I am

referring to the Indian
subcontinent

41
 THREE INDIAN
MATHEMATICIANS

ARYABHATTA (B. 476 A.D.)

BRAHMAGUPTA (B. 598 A.D.)

BHASKARA II (1114-1185 A.D.)

42
 ARYABHATA I

Born 476 A.D. in India

500 A.D., beginning of classic

era of Indian Mathematics

Headed research center for

math & astronomy in
Kusumapura

Set agenda for years to come

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 ARYABHATIYA

Written in 499 A.D. by Aryabhata

Compendium of mathematics and astronomy

Arithmetic, algebra, plane & spherical trigonometry,

continued fractions, quadratic equations, sums of
power series and tables of sines.

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 UJJAIN SCHOOL

School in Ujjain about the same time as the Aryabhata

school.

This and Aryabhata school made major developments

in mathematics and astronomy

Brahmagupta (7th century A.D.)

45
INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Family based

Number of families who

carried math forward

Libraries with commentaries

Astronomy was religious

Fundamental changes

Math was a tool for

astronomy
46
 BASE 10(ISH) NUMBERS

Influenced by the positional

system of the Babylonians
and the Chinese base 10
counting boards

Positional system

Used decimal marker

Number system was in

common use by the 9th
century A.D.
47
 Worksheet Activity

Read and begin working on Alexandria Jones and Secret of the

Egyptian Fractions

We will come together to share methods and discuss these

problems

48
 Homework
Read Sketch 5 - Something Less Than Nothing (Negative
Numbers), pp. 81-86, and Sketch 17 - Impossible, Imaginary,
Useful (Complex Numbers), pp. 141-146.

Respond to prompts on the mini-discussion forum

Complete and bring to class worksheet Egyptian Fractions

Biographies - Clare A, Laura M, Danielle D

Timeline - Beth R, Danielle G, Siedah K

49
How has zero evolved in mathematics and as a number?

• Why was there a need for zero?

• How was zero named in different cultures?
• What new mathematics became possible with each of these changes in
conceptions of zero?

Before there was a symbol for zero, there was just an empty space. This led to
confusion, so a dot was used (sometimes the same as the punctuation for the end of
a sentence). Zero began as being a symbol for a placeholder (first recognized as the
absence of a quantity). Later recognized as a quantity. Our symbol for zero evolved
from a tiny circle used as a place holder.

Set properties/identities of zero including the additive property (any number plus
zero is the original number) and the multiplicative identity (any number times zero
is zero).

Confusion existed when dividing by zero? (Is the answer zero, one, something else?)

Algebra was developed (setting an equation equal to zero). Originally, variables

were used on both sides of an equation. Now all variables could be put on one side
of an equation. Quadratic equations could be used to find roots of a quadratic
equation (which is where the graph crosses the x-axis, if there are two real
roots/one real root touches the axis/no real roots does not cross the axis). These are
sometimes called the zeros of the equation.
How have fractions evolved in mathematics?

• Why was there a need for fractions?

• How were fractions described and used in different cultures?
• What is the difference between our current use of fractions and the unit
fraction approach?

Fractions began as representations of parts of a whole. There was a need for greater
precision in measurement (feet -> half feet -> quarter feet, etc.). Sometimes fractions
were given unique names instead of parts of a larger whole (cups, pints, quarts,
gallons, etc.)

Chinese avoided using unit fractions (7/3 was instead written as 2 and 1/3).

Unit fractions consisted of a 1 in the numerator. Some fractions were represented as

the sum of unit fractions. Chinese were perhaps the first to go from unit fractions to
more conventional notatations of fractions (multiples of a small unit -> instead of ½
+1/4 you can now say ¾).

Fractions could be written as decimals. This allowed easier computations (which led
to better understandings of square roots and pi). Percents (Per=per, cent=100)
came from fractions. Base 60 used in time and navigation (from Babylonians).
What are some of the logical difficulties that arise when you attempt to define 0/0 to
be 1 or 0?

Conflict – anything divided by zero is undefined/anything divided by itself is 1/zero

divided by anything is zero.

Issue – what does this problem represent?

0/0=0 is the same as 0 times what equals zero (of which there are an infinite
number of answers). Zero times what equals 1 is not possible. Quotient Remainder
Theorem

Imagine a teacher shows her students a shortcut for dividing single digits by 9. She
says that all you have to do is to write the numerator as a repeating decimal (for
example, 1/9=.1 repeating, that is 0.1111111..., and 4/9=.4 repeating, that is
0.4444444...). A student raises their hand and asks if that means that 9/9=.9
repeating. A different students says that this is impossible because 9/9 has to be
equal 1. What would say to these two students?

3/9=1/3=.333333…

0.333….+0.333…+0.333=0.999…

1/3+1/3+1/3=3/3=1 These are the same.

X=.99999…

10X=9.9999….

subtract these two things…

10X-X=9.9999…-0.99999…

9X=9

x=1
SME 430: History of Mathematics 1/26/10

Adam Clements
Name __________________________
Egyptian Fractions
Egyptians used almost exclusively fractions which have 1 for a numerator. These are called unit
fractions. The symbol for a fraction in hieroglyphic script contains sign/symbol for

mouth - but this is at the same time symbol for the smallest unit of grain which is called
ro.
So Egyptians would write fractions like this:

=2 = 1/2

= 13 = 1/13

In order to make writing and computations more easier we’ll use Hindu-Arabic numerals and
we’ll put a line over a number to represent the unit fraction corresponding to that number.

For example 3 means 1/3 or 17 means 1/17 in terms of Egyptian fractions.

Besides unit fractions 2/3 had a special symbol. used to represent 2/3. In order to make
our job easier we will put two lines over 3 to represent 2/3.

2/3 or any unit fraction (fraction with one as the numerator, like 1/7) were expressed in a simple,
straightforward way. 1/2 had a sign of its own, in our way of writing ( 2), as did 2/3 ( 3). And

the other unit fractions were just the symbol (meaning "part"), with the denominator
expressed as an integer, under this symbol.

Other fractions are not as simple. They are expressed as the sum of progressively smaller unit
fractions. For this purpose, 2/3 is considered to be a unit fraction. For example, 2/5=1/3 + 1/15.
Notice that 2/5 could also be expressed as 1/5 + 1/5. This is not allowed in Egyptian fractions.
No two unit fractions can be the same.