Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

LET Major (Math) > History of Math > Flashcards

History of Math Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Greek word for ‘to study’ or ‘to learn’?

A

mathemata

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the Filipino term for Mathematics?

A

Sipnayan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What time period does the Stone Age cover?

A

20,000 BCE – 2,000 BCE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the significance of the Isango Bone?

A

20,000 years old; contains a series of notches indicating counting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How old is the Lebombo Bone and where was it found?

A

40,000 years old; near South Africa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What mathematical concepts were developed in Chinese Civilization?

A
  • Negative numbers
  • Decimal fractions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the sexagesimal number system?

A

Base 60 number system used by the Sumerians/Babylonians

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are counters in ancient Mesopotamia?

A

Small, three-dimensional clay objects representing quantities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is the significance of Mesopotamian Tablets?

A

Oldest known clay tablet with mathematical computations, created around 2700 BCE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

When was the Sumerian Multiplication Table created?

A

Around 2600 BCE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is the Rhind Papyrus?

A

Famous mathematical document from ancient Egypt, written around 1550 BCE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Who was Menna in the context of ancient Egypt?

A

Chief scribe in charge of measuring fields and calculating taxes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What concept did Indian Civilization introduce in Mathematics?

A

Concept of zero to denote absence or emptiness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Who is known as the first true Mathematician?

A

Thales of Miletus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What theorem is named after Thales?

A

Thales’ Theorem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What did Pythagoras of Samos believe about the universe?

A

Everything in the universe can be represented by numbers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is Zeno of Elea known for?

A

Famous paradoxes, including the Paradox of Motion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Who is often referred to as the Father of Medicine?

A

Hippocrates of Chios

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What did Eudoxus of Cnidus develop?

A

The method of exhaustion, laying the foundation for integral calculus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is Euclid of Alexandria known for?

A

Father of Geometry; wrote ‘The Elements’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is the significance of the Bamboo Multiplication Table?

A

Oldest known decimal multiplication table created around 2300 years ago

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What method did Archimedes use to find the volume of irregular objects?

A

Water Displacement Method

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Who calculated the circumference of the earth?

A

Eratosthenes of Cyrene

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is the Suàn shù shū?

A

Book on Numbers and Computation, one of the oldest mathematical manuscripts from China

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Who is known as the Father of Trigonometry?

A

Hipparchus of Nicaea

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What did Archimedes discover about Pi?

A

Approximation of Pi

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is the significance of Aryabhata?

A

One of the first Mathematicians of the Golden Age of Indian Mathematics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Who is considered the Father of Algebra?

A

Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What is the book ‘Ars Magna’ known for?

A

First definitive work on Algebra by Girolamo Cardano

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What did Blaise Pascal develop?

A

An early version of the mechanical calculator called Pascaline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Who independently developed Calculus alongside Isaac Newton?

A

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What is the significance of the Bernoulli family in mathematics?

A

Contributions to probability and statistics, including the Law of Large Numbers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Who was the first Western woman to write a mathematics textbook?

A

Maria Gaetana Agnesi

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What is the Mohr-Mascheroni Theorem?

A

A theorem in geometry named after Lorenzo Mascheroni

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What did Carl Friedrich Gauss contribute to mathematics?

A

Foundational work in number theory and statistics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Who is known as the Father of Differential Geometry?

A

French Mathematician

Introduced the concept of lines of curvature on surfaces in 3D space; invented orthographic projection and descriptive geometry.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What theorem is Lorenzo Mascheroni known for?

A

Mohr-Mascheroni Theorem

The Euler-Mascheroni constant is named after him.

38
Q

Which mathematician is referred to as the Newton of France?

A

Pierre-Simon Laplace

Translated problems in celestial mechanics from geometry to calculus and proposed that the solar system developed from a rotating disk of dust.

39
Q

What notable achievement did Carl Friedrich Gauss accomplish at the age of 10?

A

Added the first 100 counting numbers in seconds

Known as the Prince of Mathematics.

40
Q

What theorem did Marie-Sophie Germain lay the foundations for?

A

Fermat’s Last Theorem

Also contributed to the Mathematics of Elastic Surfaces.

41
Q

What title is Mary Somerville known by?

A

Queen of Science

Recognized for her discovery of Neptune.

42
Q

What is the Möbius strip?

A

Non-orientable 2D surface with only one side

Discovered by August Ferdinand Möbius.

43
Q

What is the significance of Augustin-Louis Cauchy in mathematics?

A

Pioneer of Complex Analysis

Advanced Algebra and Calculus.

44
Q

Who is considered the Father of the Computer?

A

Charles Babbage

Invented the difference/analytical engine, the first mechanical computer.

45
Q

Who is recognized as the first computer programmer?

A

Ada Lovelace

An English Mathematician.

46
Q

Which mathematician contributed to Non-Euclidean Geometry?

A

Nikolai Lobachevsky

One of the founders of this field.

47
Q

What did János Bolyai contribute to mathematics?

A

Non-Euclidean Geometry

He was one of the founders of this field.

48
Q

What are Abelian functions and groups associated with?

A

Niels Henrik Abel

Also known for proving the binomial theorem.

49
Q

What do De Morgan Laws explain?

A

Transform logical relationships in set theory

Named after Augustus De Morgan.

50
Q

What are quaternions?

A

First example of a non-commutative algebra

Invented by William Rowan Hamilton.

51
Q

Which mathematician is known for the study of elliptic functions?

A

Carl Jacobi

One of the pioneers in this area.

52
Q

What did Évariste Galois invent?

A

Group theory and Galois theory

Significant contributions to abstract algebra.

53
Q

Who developed matrix algebra?

A

Arthur Cayley

A British Mathematician and Lawyer.

54
Q

What is Boolean Algebra?

A

Uses and, or, and not as operators

Developed by George Boole.

55
Q

Who is known as the Father of Modern Analysis?

A

Karl Weierstrass

His work laid the groundwork for analysis.

56
Q

What is Florence Nightingale known for in statistics?

A

Use of pie charts and evaluating treatments

One of the first to apply statistics in healthcare.

57
Q

What is the Riemann Hypothesis?

A

One of the 23 mathematical problems

Proposed by Bernhard Riemann, related to prime numbers.

58
Q

Who defined real numbers, number fields, and rings?

A

Richard Dedekind

His work established foundational concepts in mathematics.

59
Q

Who is considered the Father of Set Theory?

A

Georg Cantor

Established Set Theory as a separate field of Mathematics.

60
Q

What is significant about Sofia Kovalevskaya?

A

First woman to earn a modern doctorate in Mathematics

A trailblazer for women in the field.

61
Q

What did Henri Poincaré contribute to mathematics?

A

Topology and Geometry

Known as The Last Universalist.

62
Q

What was the purpose of the set of 23 unsolved mathematical problems compiled by David Hilbert?

A

To challenge mathematicians

7 of the problems have been solved as of now.

63
Q

What is Albert Einstein famous for in physics?

A

Photoelectric effect and Brownian motion

Introduced special relativity.

64
Q

What did Lazare Carnot theorize?

A

Theory of Transversals

Related to geometry and mathematics.

65
Q

What does the Epsilon-delta definition relate to?

A

Definition of limits

Developed by Bernard Bolzano.

66
Q

Who introduced the word ‘pole’ in Projective Geometry?

A

François-Joseph Servois

His contributions impacted geometry.

67
Q

Who invented the telephone?

A

Alexander Graham Bell

The decibel was named after him.

68
Q

What is the significance of Elbert Cox in mathematics?

A

First African-American Mathematician to receive a PhD

A pioneer in the field.

69
Q

What did Andrey Kolmogorov contribute to?

A

Probability Theory

Used statistics to predict bombings in Moscow.

70
Q

What is John von Neumann known for?

A

Pioneer of quantum mechanics

His work laid the foundation for many modern theories.

71
Q

Who is recognized as the Father of Modern Differential Geometry?

A

Shiing-Shen Chern

His contributions advanced the field significantly.

72
Q

Who is Alan Turing?

A

Father of Computer Science

His work laid the groundwork for modern computing.

73
Q

What is Claude Shannon known for?

A

Father of Information Theory

His work revolutionized communication and data processing.

74
Q

What did Katherine Johnson calculate?

A

Orbital trajectories

Her calculations were critical for NASA’s missions.

75
Q

Who was the first female Mathematician elected to the US National Academy of Sciences?

A

Julia Robinson

Also the first female president of the American Mathematical Society.

76
Q

Who proved Fermat’s Last Theorem?

A

Andrew Wiles

A significant achievement in modern mathematics.

77
Q

What is the significance of Ingrid Daubechies in mathematics?

A

First female president of the International Mathematical Union

A pioneer in wavelet theory.

78
Q

What did Grigori Perelman prove?

A

Poincare Conjecture

A major milestone in topology.

79
Q

What is Terence Tao known for?

A

Mozart of Mathematics

Youngest ever winner of the International Mathematical Olympiad.

80
Q

What is Maryam Mirzakhani recognized for?

A

First woman to receive the Fields Medal

A major achievement in mathematics.

81
Q

Who was the first Latin-American to receive the Fields Medal?

A

Artur Avila

His work has been influential in dynamical systems.

82
Q

What did Charles Richter develop?

A

Magnitude scale to determine the strength of earthquakes

Known as the Richter Scale.

83
Q

What is the Linear Programming Method used for?

A

To find the optimal values of a linear function subject to constraints

Invented by George Dantzig.

84
Q

Who is known as the Father of Modern Problem Solving?

A

George Polya

His methods are widely taught in mathematics education.

85
Q

What is the Fields Medal?

A

Counterpart of the Nobel Prize for Mathematics

Named after John Charles Fields.

86
Q

What is Linear Algebra?

A

Field of Mathematics widely used in computer programs nowadays (AI)

Fundamental for many applications in science and engineering.

87
Q

What is the Vigesimal Number System?

A

Base 20

Used by Celtics and Innuits.

88
Q

What is the Hexadecimal Number System?

A

Base 16

Commonly used in computing.

89
Q

What is the Octogesimal Number System?

A

Base 80

Less commonly used in mathematics.

90
Q

Who is the Patron Saint of Mathematicians?

A

St. Hubert

Recognized for his contributions to the field.

91
Q

What is the obelus?

A

Division symbol (÷)

Commonly used in arithmetic.

LET Major (Math) (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions