Math Project 12 TH

The History of Mathematics
The history of mathematics deals with the origin of

discoveries in mathematics and the mathematical
methods and notation of the past. Before the
modern age and the worldwide spread of
knowledge, written examples of new mathematical
developments have come to light only in a few
locales. From 3000 BC the Mesopotamian states of
Sumer, Akkad and Assyria, followed closely by
Ancient Egypt and the Levantine state of Ebla
began using arithmetic, algebra and geometry for
purposes of taxation, commerce, trade and also in
the field of astronomy to record time and formulate
calendars. Chinese mathematics made early
contributions, including a place value system and
the first use of negative numbers.
The History of Indian Mathematics
The decimal number system in use today was first
recorded in Indian mathematics. Indian
mathematicians made early contributions to the
study of the concept of zero as a number, negative
numbers, arithmetic, and algebra. In addition,
trigonometry was further advanced in India, and, in
particular, the modern definitions of sine and
cosine were developed there. These mathematical
concepts were transmitted to the Middle East,
China, and Europe and led to further developments
that now form the foundations of many areas of
mathematics. A later landmark in Indian
mathematics was the development of the series
expansions for trigonometric functions (sine,
cosine, and arc tangent) by mathematicians of the
Kerala school in the 15th century CE.
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician,
physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician, and
engineer who founded the studies of graph theory
and topology and made pioneering and influential
discoveries in many other branches of
mathematics such as analytic number theory,
complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus. He
introduced much of modern mathematical
terminology and notation, including the notion of a
mathematical function. Euler introduced and
popularized several notational conventions through
his numerous and widely circulated textbooks.
Most notably, he introduced the concept of a
function[6] and was the first to write f(x) to denote
the function f applied to the argument x. He also
introduced the modern notation for the
trigonometric functions, the letter e for the base of
the natural logarithm (now also known as Euler's
number), the Greek letter Σ for summations and
the letter i to denote the imaginary unit. Euler
introduced the use of the exponential function and
logarithms in analytic proofs. He discovered ways
to express various logarithmic functions using
power series, and he successfully defined
logarithms for negative and complex numbers,
thus greatly expanding the scope of mathematical
applications of logarithms.[65] He also defined the
exponential function for complex numbers and
discovered its relation to the trigonometric
functions. For any real number φ (taken to be
radians), Euler's formula states that the complex
exponential function satisfies e^itheta = cos theta
+ isintheta. A special case of the above formula is
known as Euler's identity, e^ipi + 1 = 0.
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician.

Though he had almost no formal training in pure
mathematics, he made substantial contributions to
mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite
series, and continued fractions, including solutions
to mathematical problems then considered
unsolvable. In mathematics, there is a distinction
between insight and formulating or working
through a proof. Ramanujan proposed an
abundance of formulae that could be investigated
later in depth. G. H. Hardy said that Ramanujan's
discoveries are unusually rich and that there is
often more to them than initially meets the eye. As
a byproduct of his work, new directions of research
were opened up. Examples of the most intriguing
of these formulae include infinite series for π, one
of which is given below:
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse was an Ancient Greek
mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer,
and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in
Sicily. Considered the greatest mathematician of
ancient history, and one of the greatest of all time,
Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and
analysis by applying the concept of the infinitely
small and the method of exhaustion to derive and
rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems.
[5][6]
These include the area of a circle, the surface
area and volume of a sphere, the area of an ellipse,
the area under a parabola, the volume of a
segment of a paraboloid of revolution, the volume
of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution, and
the area of a spiral. Archimedes' other
mathematical achievements include deriving an
approximation of pi, defining and investigating the
Archimedean spiral, and devising a system using
exponentiation for expressing very large numbers.
He was also one of the first to apply mathematics
to physical phenomena, working on statics and
hydrostatics. Archimedes was able to use
indivisibles (a precursor to infinitesimals) in a way
that is similar to modern integral calculus.[5]
Through proof by contradiction, he could give
answers to problems to an arbitrary degree of
accuracy, while specifying the limits within which
the answer lay. This technique is known as the
method of exhaustion, and he employed it to
approximate the areas of figures and the value of
π. He also proved that the area of a circle was
equal to π multiplied by the square of the radius of
the circle. Archimedes proved that the area
enclosed by a parabola and a straight line is 4/3
times the area of a corresponding inscribed
triangle. He expressed the solution to the problem
as an infinite geometric series with the common
ratio ¼.

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The History of Mathematics

The history of mathematics deals with the origin of

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician.

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