Math History
This ancient civilization developed a base-60 number system, which is why we have 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle.
Who were the Babylonians?
If an item costs $50 and is discounted by 20%, this is the amount of money you save.
What is $10?
The shape of a stop sign, with eight equal sides.
What is an octagon?
Area = Length x Width
What is the area of a rectangle?
The mathematical idea that describes whether something is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same.
What is Rate of Change?
This Greek mathematician is known as the “Father of Geometry” and wrote Elements, a textbook used for over 2,000 years.
Who is Euclid?
This mathematical operation is used to calculate speed when you are given distance and time.
What is division?
This geometric shape best describes the path of the hands on a clock as they rotate.
What is a circle?
y = mx + b
What is slope-intercept form?
This property means a shape can be folded into two identical halves.
What is symmetry?
This Muslim mathematician’s name gave us the word “algorithm,” and his book formalized methods for solving linear and quadratic equations.
Who is Al-Khawārizmī?
If a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour for 4 people, this is how much flour is needed for 8 people.
What is 4 cups?
This type of angle is formed by the corner of a book or a smartphone screen.
What is a right angle?
Area = pi x radius^2
What is the area of a circle?
The mathematical rule that determines which operations should be done first in an expression.
What is Order of Operations?
This Muslim mathematician from the 11th century made major advances in solving cubic equations and helped reform the Persian calendar, making it more accurate than the Julian calendar.
Who is Omar Khayyām?
This unit is most commonly used to measure the amount of electricity a household uses in a month.
What is a Kwh? (Kilo-Watt Hour)
The strongest simple shape used in bridges and roof trusses because it does not easily deform.
What is a triangle?
-b +- sqrt(b^2 - 4ac) / 2a
What is the quadratic formula?
This idea explains why a triangle is rigid but a four-sided shape can change shape without changing side lengths.
What is structural rigidity?
This concept, developed and preserved by Muslim mathematicians using Hindu numerals, replaced Roman numerals in Europe and made modern arithmetic and algebra practical.
What is the place-value decimal number system (including zero)?
A car travels 180 miles on 6 gallons of gas. This number represents the car’s fuel efficiency.
What is 30 MPG?
This three-dimensional shape best models a water bottle, soda can, or many storage tanks.
What is a cylinder?
sin2(x) + cos2(x) = This number
What is 1?
This mathematical concept (popularized by pop-science on Social Media) explains why doubling every dimension of a shape increases its area by a factor of four and its volume by a factor of eight.
What is square cube law?