Origins of Concepts
Origin of the word “Algebra”
Arabic (al-jabr)
Civilization that developed zero
Indus
Known as the “Father of Geometry”
Euclid
Famous theorem on right-angled triangles
Pythagoras’ Theorem
Math used in ancient astronomy
Trigonometry
First formal proof-based system was by
Ancient Greece
Who introduced “=”
Robert Recorde
Introduced coordinate geometry
René Descartes
Proof of irrationality of √2
Hippasus
This mathematical method is used by banks and insurance companies to calculate future value, loan repayments, and pension schemes using the formula
A=P(1+r/n)^t.
Name the mathematical concept and field of study.
Compound Interest – Financial Mathematics
Birthplace of calculus
England & Germany
Number system using base 60
Babylonians
Contributed to number theory & modular arithmetic
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Theorem that took 350+ years to prove
Fermat’s Last Theorem
Mathematics behind GPS
Calculus & matrices
Origin of logarithms
John Napier (Scotland)
First use of imaginary numbers
16th-century Europe
Developed non-Euclidean geometry
Nikolai Lobachevsky
Foundation of limits & rigor
Cauchy / Weierstrass
Key math in economics
Calculus
The rigorous definition of a limit using ε–δ (epsilon–delta) was introduced to remove logical gaps in calculus. Name the mathematician most credited with formalizing this approach.
Karl Weierstrass
This number system, developed in the 19th century, extended real numbers to solve polynomial equations and is built on ordered pairs (a, b) with the rule i2=−1i^2 = -1i2=−1. What system is this?
Complex numbers
This mathematician independently co-invented calculus, developed binary numbers, and believed that the universe followed a logical symbolic language called characteristica universalis. Who is he?
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
This theorem connects the exponential function with trigonometry through the identity
eiθ=cosθ+isinθ,
and is often called the most beautiful formula in mathematics. Name the theorem and the mathematician.
Euler’s Formula – Leonhard Euler
Mathematics behind cryptography
Number theory