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egyptian math. Taras Malsky MT.1102 AB Dr.S.Washburn Egyptian Math The use of organized
mathematics in Egypt has been dated back to the third millennium BC. ...
... History of Math Mathematics, study of relationships among quantities, magnitudes,
and ... The earliest Egyptian texts, composed about 1800 BC, reveal a decimal ...
... keep track of their floods, and by knowing how to do a little math they were ...
Architecture and Art were also part of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian achievements. ...
... Al-Khowarizmi wrote a very important Egyptian book titled “Al-jabr” His book ... The
two most widespread areas of opportunity in math are called theoretical ...
... Secondly, the Egyptian concepts of architecture, astronomy, and math seem to be
well ahead of their time, with outstanding structures such as the pyramids. ...
Submitted by oppapers on December 11, 2003
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Taras Malsky
MT.1102 AB
Dr.S.Washburn
Egyptian Math
The use of organized mathematics in Egypt has been dated back to the third millennium BC. Egyptian mathematics was dominated by arithmetic, with an emphasis on measurement and calculation in geometry. With their vast knowledge of geometry, they were able to correctly calculate the areas of triangles, rectangles, and trapezoids and the volumes of figures such as bricks, cylinders, and pyramids. They were also able to build the Great Pyramid with extreme accuracy.
Early surveyors found that the maximum error in fixing the length of the sides was only 0.63 of an inch, or less than 1/14000 of the total length. They also found that the error of the angles at the corners to be only 12", or about 1/27000 of a right angle (Smith 43).
Three theories from mathematics were found to have been used in building the Great Pyramid. The first theory states that four equilateral triangles were placed together to build the pyramidal surface. The second theory states that the ratio of one of the sides to half of the height is the approximate value of P, or that the ratio of the perimeter to the height is 2P. It has been discovered that early pyramid builders may have conceived the idea that P equaled about 3.14. The third theory states that the angle of elevation of the passage leading to the principal chamber determines the latitude of the pyramid, about 30o N, or that the passage itself points to what was then known as the pole star (Smith 44).
Ancient Egyptian mathematics was based on two very elementary concepts. The first concept was that the Egyptians had a thorough knowledge of the twice-times table. The second concept was that they had the ability to find two-thirds of any number (Gillings 3). This number could be either integral or fractional. The Egyptians used the fraction 2/3 used with sums of unit fractions (1/n) to express all...
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