Mr. Irribarra's math class Jeopardy

History of Math

100

Which two main areas of math were logically developed by the Greeks?

Geometry and number theory

200

This area of mathematics was heavily influenced by Persian and Arab mathematicians around the year 800 AD.

Algebra

300

This area of mathematics was developed simultaneously and independently by Newton and Leibniz in the 17th century. They had a lot of beef about it. You'll study this in IB math.

Calculus

400

In what year was the equal sign invented?

1557

500

These numbers were called a derogatory name by French mathematician Descartes, who thought they were useless. Yet years later another great mathematician (Euler) made them quite popular. They're very used in electrical engineering and quantum physics.

Imaginary numbers

Famous mathematicians

100

Who was the first person to ever write a mathematics textbook based entirely on logical deductions?

Euclid (Greek mathematician, he wrote The Elements)

200

What is the name of the mathematician who proved that there can't be a formula to find the solutions for a fifth grade equation?

Évariste Galois

300

First female mathematician to ever win a Fields Medal

Maryam Mirzakhani

400

The quadratic formula is known in some countries by the name of an Indian mathematician who derived it almost 1000 years ago

Bhaskara

500

This Australian-American mathematician started taking college level math at age 9, won International Math Olympiads since he was 10, graduated college at age 16, and is considered one of the greatest problem solvers alive. He's now a math professor at UCLA.

Terence Tao

Big theorems of math

100

What is a theorem?

A mathematical statement that has been proven true.

200

State the Pythagorean Theorem

In a right triangle, the sum of the squares of its two legs is equal to the square of its hypotenuse.

300

State the inclusion-exclusion principle for two sets.

P(A U B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A ∩ B)

400

State the Linear Programming Theorem

In a linear programming problem, optimal solutions must occur at the vertices or edges of the feasible region.

500

State one (any) math conjecture that is believed to be true but has not been proven yet.

Examples vary.

Math facts

100

What is the result of dividing any real number by zero?

Undefined

200

Is zero even, odd or neither?

Even

300

What is 0⁰?

Undefined

400

Without doing any division, how can you tell if a number can be divided by 9 without remainder?

Add all the digits, if the result is a multiple of 9, then the original number is also divisible by 9.

500

i²⁰²⁶

-1

Random

100

Which mathematician had a cult that banned eating beans?

Pythagoras

200

What's the roman numeral for 0?

They didn't have one!

300

What is the only number in the English language spelled with all its letters in alphabetical order?

Forty

400

How can you cut a cake into 8 pieces with only 3 cuts?

Two cuts top to bottom, one across.

500

One of the earliest mathematicians who studied probability (Cardano) did so for a very personal reason... what was it?

He was a compulsive gambler.