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History And History Of Math

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History of Math in Egypt Did you know that Egyptian hieroglyphs used over 700 different picture symbols? Those symbols were used for various things including recording official texts. Every symbol meant a different thing and only scribes could write hieroglyphs since most Egyptians were illiterate. The Egyptians used hieroglyphs in math by having symbols for numbers. Examples of this would include having a coil of rope for a hundred and a lotus plant for a thousand. The Egyptians knew various types of math including quadratic and linear equations, multiplication and division as well as being able to measure area, volume, distance, length, and weight. This applies to modern math because in today’s math we use skills such as quadratic and …show more content…

The Egyptians used base ten, and could measure volume, length, distance, and weight (Lesko 135-44). The first well-known mathematical papyrus is the Rhind Papyrus. The scribe Ahmes wrote it around 1650 BC; it was later purchased and named after Alexander Henry Rhind (McIntyre, Leighton; The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). The Rhind Papyrus has 87 math problems; many of them using multiplication and division. For instance, the first six problems on the papyrus ask how to divide bread between ten men (McIntyre, Leighton). The second well-known papyrus is the Moscow Papyrus. The Moscow Papyrus was first owned by Vladmir Galenidenov and is now in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Russia. It is 18 feet long and its width varies between 1 ½ to 3 inches wide. Twenty-five problems are written on the papyrus and these were translated by Egyptologist Vasily Vasilievich Struve. These problems use algebra as well as geometry (Gardener). The Egyptians used and created many forms of math that we still use today. Their advancements in both writing forms and mathematics help people today in more ways than they could have imagined. Also, numerous things were discovered when Jean François Champollion in 1822 translated hieroglyphs for the first time (Lesko 135-44). Lastly, we no longer write in picture symbols that few people can decipher and still use a base-ten counting system. Math in Egypt and Today The Egyptians

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