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Second Degree Equations in the Classroom: A Babylonian Approach

Article · February 2000

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Second Degree In this paper, we present a teaching sequence whose pur-
pose is to lead the students to reinvent the formula that
Equations in the solves the general quadratic equation. Our teaching se-

Classroom: A
quence is centered on the resolution of geometrical prob-
lems related to rectangles using an elegant and visual
Babylonian method developed by Babylonian scribes during the first
half of the second millennium BCE. Our goal is achieved
Approach* through a progressive itinerary which starts with the use
of manipulatives and evolves through an investigative
Luis Radford problem-solving process that combines both numerical and
Universite´
Luis RadfordLaurentienne, Canada geometrical experiences. Instead of launching the students
and into the modern algebraic symbolism from the start—
something that often discourages many of them— algebraic
symbols are only introduced at the end, after the students
Georges Guérette have truly understood the geometric methods. The teaching
Conseil de l’éducation de sequence has been successfully undertaken in some high
Sudbury, Canada school classrooms.

1. The Babylonian Geometric Method

Before explaining the teaching sequence it is worthwhile
to mention briefly some of the features of the Babylonian
geometric method. The method to which we are referring
was identified by J. Høyrup who called it Naive Geome-
try.l In order to show the method, let us discuss one of
the simplest Babylonian problems, namely, problem 1 of a
tablet preserved at the British Museum and known as BM
13901.
The statement of the problem, which seeks to find the
length of the side of a square, is the following:
The surface and the square-line I have accumu-
lated: 3/4.
As in most of the cases, the scribe states the problem
using a very concise formulation. He is referring to the
surface of a square, and the square-line means the side of
the square. Thus, the problem is to find the side of the
square, knowing that the sum of the area of the square and
the side is equal to 3/4. The method of solution is not
fully explained in the text. Indeed, the text shows only a
list of instructions concerning a sequence of calculations
that allows one to get the answer.
The instructions, as they appear in the tablet, are the
following:
1 the projection you put down. The half of 1 you
break, 1/2 and 1/2 you make span [a rectangle,
here a square], 1/4 to 3/4 you append: 1, make
1 equilateral. 1/2 which you made span you tear
out inside 1: 1/2 the square-line. (Høyrup, 1986,
p. 450)

69
70

Of course, the Babylonians should have had a method 1

on which the numerical calculations were based. For some
time it was believed that the Babylonians somehow knew
our formula to solve second-degree equations. However,
this interpretation has been abandoned because of the mul- FIGURE 1
tiple intrinsic difficulties that it implies, one of them be-
ing the well known lack of algebraic symbols in Babylo- ½ ½
nian mathematical texts and the related impossibility for
the Babylonians to handle complex symbolic calculations
without an explicit symbolic language (details in Radford
1996 and Radford in print).

½
Based on a philological and textual analysis of the
Babylonian texts, J. Høyrup suggested that the solution of
problems (such as the preceding one) was underlain by a FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3
geometrical configuration upon which the oral explanation
was based. In the case of the previous problem, the scribe
thinks of an actual square (Fig. a). However, the side is This is the same type of transformation that seems to
not seen as a simple side (Fig. b) but as a side provided be the basis of the resolution of many problems found in a
with a canonical projection that forms, along with the side, medieval book, the Liber Mensurationum of Abuˆ Bekr
a rectangle (Fig. c). The duality of the concept of side is (probably ninth century), whose Arabic manuscript was lost
based on a metrological equality: the length of the side and which we know of through a twelfth century translation
and the area of the rectangle that it forms along with its by Gerard of Cremona (ed. Busard, 1968). In fact, many
canonical projection have the same numerical value (see of these problems are formulated in terms similar to those
Høyrup 1990a). Keeping this in mind and coming back of the Naive Geometry.
to problem 1, BM 13901, it appears that the quantity 3/4 Let us consider an excerpt from one of the problems
refers then to the total area of Fig. 1. Next, the scribe cuts of the Liber Mensurationum (problem 41; Busard 1968, p.
the width 1 into two parts and transfers the right side to 95):
the bottom of the original square (see Fig. 2). And if someone tells you: add the shorter side
Now the scribe completes a big square by adding a and the area [of a rectangle] and the result was
small square whose side is 1/2 (Fig. 3). The total area is 54, and the shorter side plus 2 is equal to the
the 3/4 (that is, the area of the first figure) plus 1/4 (that longer side, what is each side?
is, the area of the added small square). It gives 1. The side As in the case of Babylonian texts, the steps of the
of the big square can now be calculated: that gives 1; now resolution given in the Liber Mensurationum indicate the
the scribe subtracts 1/2 from 1, he gets 1/2: this is the side operations between the numbers that one has to follow.2 In
of the original square. all likelihood, the calculations are underlain by a sequence
of figures like figures 4 to 10 hereinafter. The initial rect-
angle is shown in Fig. 4. The shorter side, x, (placed at the
right of the figure) is provided with a projection equal to
s
1 (Fig.5), so that the length of the side is equal to the area
of the projected rectangle, as in the case of the Babylonian
problem discussed above. Given that y = x + 2, the base
FIGURE a (square) FIGURE b (side) ‘y’ (bottom of Fig. 5) can be divided into two segments ‘x’
length = s
y y 1

x x

FIGURE c (side with canonical projection)

area = s FIGURE 4 FIGURE 5
 71

y 1 y 1 x 1½ x 1½

x x x x

x 2 x 2
FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 FIGURE 9 FIGURE 10

and ‘2’ (see Fig. 6). Now two small rectangles are placed vention of the formula to solve these equations. The se-
inside the original rectangle, as shown in Fig. 7. quence is divided into 5 parts (whose duration may vary
The next step is to divide into two the set of the three according to the students’ background).
equal rectangles (Fig. 8); one of these parts (that is, a rect- For each part of the sequence:
angle and a half) is placed at the bottom of the remaining (i) we give the indications of the different steps to follow
figure. As a result of this transformation, we now have Fig. in the classroom;
9, which is almost a square. (ii) we include an item called particular comments,
The key idea in the resolution of these types of prob- which, through concrete examples, intends to shed
lems (and which appears in an explicit manner in Al- some light on the issues of the teaching sequence ac-
Khwarizmi’s Al-Jabr (ed. Hughes 1986)) is to complete cording to our classroom experience.
the current figure (Fig. 9) in order to get a square. The
completion of the square (Fig. 10) is achieved then by Part 1. The introduction to the Naive Geometry
adding in the right corner a small square whose area is In part 1, the students are presented with the following
( 2
equal to 1 l = 2 l4. The final square then/has an area problem:
equal to 54 2+ 2 l = 56 l , so that its side is 54 l = 7 l . What should the dimensions of a rectangle be
4 4 4 2
The shorter side, x, of the original rectangle is then equal whose semi-perimeter is 20 and whose area is 96
square units?
to 7 l2 - 1 l2 = 6, so the longer side is 8.
We are not going to discuss here the historical ar- Working in cooperative groups, the students are asked to try
guments that support the reconstruction of the procedures to solve the problem using any method. After they complete
of resolution for problems such as the preceding one the task, the teacher, returning to the geometrical context
in terms of the Naive Geometry (see Høyrup 1986 or of the problem and using large cardboard figures on the
Høyrup 1990b). We shall limit ourselves to simply indi- blackboard, shows them the technique of Naive Geometry.
cating that the explicit appearance of these procedures in This can be done through the following explanation:
Al-Khwarizmi’s work leaves no doubt that these proce- If you take a square whose side is 10, then its area is 100
dures were well-known in the ninth century in certain Ara- (Fig.11). One must therefore cut out 4 square units of the
bic milieus. square whose side is 10 (Fig. 11) to obtain a figure whose
area is 96. This can be achieved (and that is the key idea
of the resolution) by cutting out of the big square a smaller
2. The Teaching Sequence square whose side is 2 (see Fig. 12). In order to obtain a
In this section we shall present the teaching sequence that rectangle one cuts the rectangle shown by the dotted line
we have developed in order to introduce the students to in Fig. 13 and places it vertically on the right (Fig. 14).
second degree equations and that culminates with the rein- The sought-after sides then measure 12 units and 8 units.

10 2
10 + 2
2
10 – 2

10

FIGURE 11 FIGURE 12 FIGURE 13 FIGURE 14

72

Once the technique is presented, the teacher gives the

students other similar problems. In order to avoid a simple
repetition, the parameters of the problem (i.e., the area and
the semi-perimeter) may be chosen as follows: area of the
rectangle = 30 and semiperimeter = 12. Problems like
(a) (b)
this are particular in that the area of the small square to
be removed (Fig. 12) is not a perfect square. This led the
FIGURE 15
students to reflect about the Naive Geometry technique on
a deeper level. one is led when one takes away a 2x3 rectanglev(Fig. 15a)
In order to help students achieve a better understand- instead of a square whose sides are equal to 6). Then,
ing, the teacher asks them to bring a written description to they became aware that a square of area equal to 6 has to
class the next day outlining the steps to follow to solve this be removedv and that they had to take away a side of length
type of problem. They may be told that the written descrip- equal to 6.
tion or “message” should be clear enough to be understood
by any student of another class of the same grade. Part 2.
This part begins with a discussion of the messages contain-
Particular comments. ing all the steps required in the resolution of the problems
(1) The idea of asking the students to solve the prob- seen in part 1. Working in cooperative groups, the students
lem 1 using any method is simply to get them ex- have to discuss and come to an agreement about the points
ploring the problem. As expected, usually, they use a which could cause a conflict or could give way to an im-
trial-and-error method. Other students choose a rather provement. When all the group members are in agreement,
numerical-geometric method; they choose a square of the teacher can choose one student of each cooperative
side equal to 10 (a solution motivated by the fact that group to present the work to the other groups. This allows
the number 10 is half of the semi-perimeter 20). A certain students to better understand. Following this, the
less usual strategy is to take the square root of 96. In students are asked to pose problems themselves with the
the last two strategies, when they try to justify their following restriction: the sides of the sought-after rectangle
answer (sometimes at the request of the teacher), they have to be expressed in whole numbers; then, as a second
realize that it is incorrect. The teacher may then ask exercise, the sides of the sought-after rectangle do not have
for ideas about direct methods of solution (something to be expressed in whole numbers. The students may even
that excludes trial-and-error methods). be asked to find fractional answers. A few of these prob-
(2) The geometrical resolution of this problem, a problem lems would be used in the test at the end of the chapter.
that can actually be found in a numerical formula-
tion in Diophantus’ Arithmetica (c. 250 CE) (Book Particular comments. We want to stress the fact that
1, problem 27), is far from evident to the students. many students have some problems in writing the mes-
As we have quite often noticed, when we first show sage in general terms, that is, without referring to particu-
the Naive Geometry approach in the classroom, the lar numbers for the semi-perimeter and the area. Although
visual seductive geometrical particularity of the reso- they were not explicitly asked to write the message us-
lution awakens a genuine interest among the students. ing letters (i.e., using an algebraic language), it was very
(3) In one of our sessions, when confronted with the prob- hard for many of them to express, at a general level, the
lem of area = 30 and semi-perimeter = 12, one group actions that they were able to accomplish when working
of students started assuming, according to the tech- with manipulatives (concrete rectangles on paper that they
nique, that the sides were each equal to 6 (which meets produced themselves using scissors) or drawings.
the requirement of semi- perimeter = 12). Given that Despite the intrinsic difficulty of this task, it is impor-
the area of this square is equal to 36, they realized tant that students try to use the natural language to express
that they needed to take away 6 square units. In order their ideas. This will simplify the transition to the abstract
to avoid irrationals, they cut out a rectangle whose symbolic algebraic language.
sides were equal to 2 and 3. Then they realized that
in doing so it is not possible to end with a rectangle, Part 3.
as required by the statement of the problem. Fig.15b In part 3, the students are presented with a problem that
shows the non-rectangular geometric object to which requires a different use of the Naive Geometry technique.
 73

The problem, inspired by that of Abuˆ Bekr seen at the end important that the teacher emphazises it) is the completion
of section 1, is the following: of a square, something that will be very important when
Problem 2: The length of a rectangle is 10 units. the students work with algebraic symbols later.
Its width is unknown. We place a square on one
of the sides of the rectangle, as shown in the fig- Part 4.
ure. Together, the two shapes have an area of 39 As in part 2, the students’ written descriptions or messages
square units. What is the width of the rectangle? are discussed. After this, the teacher asks them to pose
some problems requiring a specific condition on the sides
10
of the rectangle:
(i) the sides of the rectangle have to be expressed in
whole numbers;
(ii) the sides of the rectangle have to be expressed in frac-
tional numbers;
The teacher asks the students to solve the problem (iii) the sides of the rectangle have to be expressed in ir-
using similar ideas as the ones used to solve problem 1. rational numbers.
If students do not succeed in solving the problem by the
Naive Geometry technique, the teacher may show the new Part 5. Reinventing the formula.
problem-solving method as follows: Using large cardboard In this part, the students will keep working on a problem
figures placed on the blackboard, the teacher cuts the initial of the same type as in parts 3 and 4. The difference is
rectangle vertically in two (Fig. 17), then takes one of the
that concrete numbers are given neither for the base of
pieces and glues it to the base of the square (Fig. 18). Now
the rectangle nor for the area that the two shapes cover
the students notice that the new geometrical form is almost
together. The goal is to help students reinvent the formula
a square. The teacher then points out that the new form
that solves quadratic equations.
could be completed in order to make it a square. In order
In order to do so, the teacher explains to the students
to do so, a small square, whose side is 5 (Fig. 19), has to be
that s/he is interested in finding a formula which will pro-
added. The small square has an area equal to 25. Thus the
vide one with the answers to the problems seen in parts 3
area of the new square (Fig. 19) is equal to 39 + 25 = 64.
and 4.3 The teacher may suggest that they base their work
Its side is then equal to 8. From Fig. 18 it follows that
on the written message produced in step 4 and to use let-
x + 5 = 8, which leads us to x = 3. Next, other similar
ters instead of words. To facilitate the comparison of the
problems are given to the students to solve in groups.
students’ formulas in a next step, the teacher may suggest
As in part 1, the students are asked to work on a
using the letter “b” for the base of the rectangle and “c”
written description or message of the steps to follow in
for the area of both shapes (see Fig. 20). The equations are
order to solve this type of problem.
discussed in co-operative groups. The final equation is
2
Particular Comments. The students soon realize that the b
x= c+ b
problem-solving procedure used in problem 1 does not ap- 2 - .
2
ply directly to problem 2. Here, the central idea (and it is
The teacher may then proceed to translate the geometric
10 problem into algebraic language: if the unknown side is ‘x’,
then the area of the square is x2 and that of the rectangle
x is bx; thus the sum of both areas is equal to c, that is:
x2 +bx = c. Now, in order to link equations to the formula,
x the teacher gives some concrete equations (like x2+8x = 9,
FIGURE 16 FIGURE 17
5

b
5
FIGURE 18 FIGURE 19 FIGURE 20
74

x2 + 15x = 75) and asks the students to solve them using unfelicitous expression “styles of learning”, an expres-
the formula. sion that hides more things than it explains!). Some
The next step is to give the students the equation ax2 + students have the impression that they no longer un-
bx = c and ask them to find the formula to solve this derstand if they merely use a formula. Understanding,
equation. The students might note that if this equation is for many of them, does not seem to mean simply ‘be-
divided by a (we suppose that a /= 0), then we are led to ing able to do something’.
the previous kind of equation. It suffices then to replace ‘b’ (3) Most of the students are able to find the formula which
by ‘b/a’ and ‘c’ by ‘c/a’, in the previous formula, which solves the equation ax2 + bx = c. However, some
gives the new formula students may experience some difficulties. The main
c b 2 b problem is that here, as in the subsequent steps, the

x= + - . geometrical context is being progressively replaced by

a 2a 2a a symbolic one.
The last step is to consider the general equation ax2 + (4) To end these comments, we want to stress the fact that
bx+c = 0 and to find the formula that solves it. The formal our approach cannot avoid or conceal the problems
link with the previous equation ax2 + bx = c is clear: we that are specific to the mastering and understanding
can rewrite this equation as ax2 + bx - c = 0. Thus, in of algebraic symbols (see section 4 below). Our ap-
order to get the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 we need to proach aims to provide a useful context to help the
replace ‘c’ by ‘-c’ and to do the same in the formula. students develop a meaning for symbols. It is worth-
When we replace ‘c’ by ‘-c’ in the formula we obtain while to mention that the use of manipulatives and
the general formula: geometric techniques in order to derive the formula
were appreciated by our high-school students. A girl,
2
b for instance, said: “I better understand with the draw-
x= -c + b - .
2a 2a ings, I find this a lot more interesting and fun than the
other mathematics.”
Of course, this formula is equivalent to the well-known
formula:
v 2
b b ac 3. About the duration of the teaching
- + -4
x= 2a sequence
where in order to obtain all the numerical solutions one The teaching sequence that we discussed here may vary in
needs to consider the negative square root of b2 - 4ac. time depending on the background of the students and their
This leads us to the formula
v 2 familiarity with classroom research activities. In one of the
b b ac first times that we undertook it, we allowed a period of
- ± -4 .
x= 2a 80 minutes to each step. However, it is possible to reduce
the time and the steps of the sequence. A variant of the
Particular comments. sequence, that we undertook in an advanced mathematics
(1) Usually, the students are able to provide the formula high school course, consisted of steps 3 to 5. This can be
that solves the equation x2 + bx = c and to use it to done in two periods of 80 minutes each.
solve concrete equations (as those mentioned above).
That they can produce such a formula and realize the
4. A concluding (theoretical) remark about
amount of work that the formula saves is appreciated
very much by the students. This gives them a ‘practi- the use of symbols in mathematics
cal’ sense of the formula. The passage from numbers to letters does not consist of a
(2) However, many students need some time in order to simple transcription, as we have noted. In fact, the symbol
abandon the geometrical context and to limit them- must, in part 5, summarize the numerical and geometrical
selves to the numerical use of the formula. Further, experiences developed in parts 3 and 4. The encapsulation
there are many students who prefer to keep thinking in of these experiences includes a stage of generalization and
terms of the Naive Geometry technique. The geomet- of reorganization of the actions which opens up on a much
rical versus numerical preference may be caused by more ample description of mathematical objects.
the specific students’ own kind of rationality (some- Of course, the new semiotic category (that is, the cate-
thing that is referred to in the educational field by the gory in which the algebraic symbolism is embedded) offers
 75

new challenges to the students (see the students’ reinven- References

tion of the formula shown in Fig. 21) as it did for past Busard, H. (1968) “L’Alge´bre au Moyen Aˆ ge: Le “Liber Mensu-
mathematicians (see Radford, in print). For instance, oper- rationum” d’Abuˆ Bekr,” Journal des savants, Avril-juin, 65–
ations with symbols need to be provided with new mean- 124.
ings. In this sense abstraction does not seem to proceed to Høyrup, J. (1986) “Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn-Turk, and the Liber Men-
a detachment of meanings or to more “general” ideas. In- surationum: on the Origins of Islamic Algebra,” Erdem 2
(Ankara), 445–484.
deed, contrary to a general interpretation, abstraction does
Høyrup, J. (1990a) “Dynamis, the Babylonians, and Theaetetus
not mean to take away some features of a given object but 147c7–148d7,” Historia Mathematica, vol. 17, 201–222.
to add new ones and to be able to focus our attention on Høyrup, J. (1990b) “Algebra and Naive Geometry. An Investiga-
the features required by the context. This was suggested tion of Some Basic Aspects of Old Babylonian Mathematical
by the transference from geometric to syntactic algebraic Thought,” Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 17, 27–69, 262–
symbolism and vice-versa that students showed when solv- 354.
Hughes, B. (1986) “Gerard of Cremona’s Translation of Al-
ing second-degree equations at the end of the sequence (for
Khwarizmi’s Al-Jabr: A Critical Edition,” Mediaeval Studies,
example, 2x2 + 12x - 64 = 0), after having reinvented the No. 48, 211–263.
formula. Radford, L. (1996) “The Roles of Geometry and Arithmetic in the
These considerations lead us to the following intrigu- Development of Algebra: Historical Remarks from a Didactic
ing idea: abstraction is a contextually based operation of Perspective,” in: Approaches to Algebra, eds. N. Bednarz, C.
Kieran and L. Lee, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 39–53.
the mind.
Radford, L. (in print) The Historical Origins of Algebraic Think-
ing, in: Algebraic Processes and Structure, eds. R. Sutherland,
T. Rojano, A. Bell and R. Lins, Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Endnotes
*
This article is part of a research project granted by FCAR No.
95ER0716, Que´bec, and Laurentian University Research Funds,
Ontario.
1
His main work on Naive Geometry is (Høyrup 1990b).
2
The solution is given in the Liber Mensurationum as follows:
The way to find this is that you add two [to one], such
that you have 3. Now you take half which is one and
a half and multiply that by itself so you get two and
a quarter. So, add 54 to this and you get 56 and a
quarter; take the root and subtract 1 and a half; you
are left with 6 and that is the smaller side; add to it 2
and you will have the longer side, that is, 8. However,
there is a method to find this according to the people
of the al-gabr...
FIGURE 21 3
The students are already familiar with the concept of formula:
not only have they seen formulas in mathematics, e.g., the formu-
las for the areas of regular geometrical figures, but in the sciences
as well.

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