The History of Algebra

The essay begins with the creation of Algebra in 1545 by doctor Giordano Cardan. It was created to be this way of simplifying problems and Cardan believed it to be an art form that would never go out of style or lose usefulness over time. For the most part he was correct as nearly 500 years later it is still in use, yet for many people it does not simplify anything at all. Cardan was a man of numbers, he gambled and clearly had a great understanding of mathematics, so algebra made sense in his mind but this is not the case for everyone. Math is puzzle that people need to work through to understand, explains Baker, and many people enjoy this aspect of it much like Cardan. Baker himself was a dedicated student who put in week to learn material for a math exam and got a score of 93 for his efforts. Other students, however do not feel as though they can accomplish this. Not all students see the world in numbers and the material they are forced to study is confusing and only gets harder as the course goes on. Fr many student’s algebra

The Sumerians created and used many mathematical concepts, and a few of them are still in use today, six

Among the many scholars working in the House of Wisdom, there was Al-Khawarizmi, known as the father of algebra. Born around 800 in Baghdad, al-Khwarizmi worked in the House of Wisdom as a scholar. Being involved in the center’s translation of ancient scientific knowledge helped him develop a unique knowledge of the accumulated wisdom of the world. His importance lies in his discoveries of mathematical knowledge which was later transferred to Arab and European scholars. His masterpiece, a book of clear explanations of what would become algebra, was his entire life’s work compiled into one collection of information. The word algebra comes from the Arabic word, al-jabr, which means “completion”. In his work, al-Khwarizmi explains the principles of solving linear and quadratic equations, the concept that an equation can be created to find the value of an unknown variable. Another crucial work of al-Khwarizmi’s was The Book on the Art of Reckoning of the Hindus, which introduced the numbering system used in the Islamic culture to the west. This is the numerical system that is still used today and offered many advantages over the existing Roman numerals. An

Arabic numerals arose from the transferring of ideas from Hindu scholarship into Islamic caliphates of the Golden Age, and from there, into European culture. One thing from Indian culture that transcended into Islamic culture was the concept of zero. This was something that was not considered in earlier mathematic studies. It reads in "Math Roots: Zero: A Special Case," "the Arabs recognized the value of the Hindu system, adapted the numerals and computation, and spread the ideas in their travels." The Arabic people saw the power in this numbering system because there

HVII. INFLUENCE OF INDIA ON ISLAMIC THOUGHT: Indian mathematics grabbed the attention of places in the Dar al-Islam. Muslims found it attractive for both educational purposes and accounting. They adopted “Indian numerals,” which was later called the “Arab numerals,” since they learned it from the Arabian Muslims. Completely simplified bookkeeping.

According to document 4, Al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician wrote a textbook in the 800’s about algebra which was later adopted throughout Europe. Muslim mathematicians also adopted Arabic numerals from Indians and used them in place-value system. (Doc. 4) These mathematical advances also led to the creation of simple yet complicated structures. Also, after using their observations and their understanding of mathematics, Muslim scholars were able to make an advancement in mapmaking. They used astrolabe and armillary sphere to help study skies and make calculations for calendars and maps. (Doc.

Although the west did have its own cultivation of knowledge, the majority of westernized thinking originated in India and other Southern Asian countries. The people of India invented Hindi numerals. Arabs gave these numerals the title, ‘Hindi numbers’. These numerals included the concept of zero and allowed mathematicians to make fast, accurate calculations. Once Arabs had begun using the Indians numerals and concept of zero, Europeans were then introduced to these concepts and called them ‘Arab numerals’. Chinese used Indian mathematical concepts but advanced the ideas which allowed them to expand in that field of knowledge. The methods that the Chinese used based off of the ideas of Indians, shows how methods were spread. Since the

Among the most famous scholars at the House of Wisdom, this polymath researcher is credited with having invented algebra.

This led people out of the dark and enlightened them about possibilities. Moving on, Cannon of Medicine, written by Ibn Sina, explains the importance of studying the symptoms of disease in order to create effective medicine. Ibn Sina was a prominent Islamic philosopher who was also trained medically. Due to his experience in medicine and his ability to think philosophically he has a deeper understanding of what must be done in order to improve medicine. Furthermore, an astrolabe which is a maritime navigation device that aided in exploration and trade is pictured (document four). The astrolabe was created around 200 BC and made its way from Islamic territories to Europe. Finally, al-Khwarizmi, a Persian Muslim mathematician, discusses the Hindu numeric system (document five). Al-Khwarizimi was Islamic and the period in which he lived was known as the Islamic Golden Age, a time where interpretations of the Qur’an became more scientific. This affected the way in which he viewed Hindu mathematics as seen in the first couple of sentences where he speaks of God and His

Preceding the Islamic Golden Age, Indian culture had a revolution of thought which was seen in the Islamic Empire. One thing from Indian culture that transcended into Islamic culture was the concept of zero. This was something that was not considered in earlier mathematic studies. It read in “Math Roots: Zero: A Special Case,” “the Arabs recognized the value of the Hindu system, adapted the numerals and computation, and spread the ideas in their travels.” The Arabic people saw the power in this numbering system because there was a place holder number. This concept was accepted into Islamic thought; however, it was not received well in Europe. For the greater part of the European society, it was a strange system, in comparison to the Roman numeral system, and was not widely accepted. At the beginning of Arabic numeral introduction into European society, scholars and mathematicians were primarily the only ones who accepted

Throughout Descartes live he contributed many important ideas, including, about algebra, he explained in detail that how algebraic equations can be through shapes. He is widely acclaimed for being the first mathematician who started modern geometry that later developed calculus and analysis. His major contribution is that he created the Cartesian coordinate system. The Cartesian system explained the algebraic equations through geometrical shapes. He “invented the convention of representing unknowns in equations by x, y, and z”. It was his work of calculus that was later used by Newton thus evolving a new branch of mathematics. Besides, that, he also invented rule of signs to establish the positive and negative roots of polynomial. He is known

The mathematics had been developed for four thousand years, and Muslim inherited mathematics from Egyptian, Mesopotamians, Sumerian and Babylonian. Greek geometry and Hindu arithmetic and algebra reached at an early stage in Muslim lands and were translated in centers such as Gondeshapur and Baghdad. Starting out at intellectual center of Islam, they soon criticizing those concepts and formulation by finding inaccurate and inconsistent information and adapt their own ideas. At the same period in Western Europe, they still use Roman numerals and abacus to calculate numbers. The Babylonian already had concept of bases sixty computation with place value numerals. Muslim then developed a decimal arithmetic based on place value and joint concept of zero. In the ninth century, Banu Musa brothers who were three gifted sons of Musa, Muhammad, Ahmad, and Hassan ibn Musa lived in Baghdad studied problems in constructing interrelated geometrical figures. Later the characteristic of those line, space of geometrical shape was given intense study and utilized sophisticated geometry in designing waterwheels, in improving farming equipment, in developing new type of weapon used at war. Another person who make significant contribution on mathematics is Muhammad ibn al-Khwarizmi, a Persian born in the eighth century. He was the first person who originated both terms “algebra”, and

Unlike geometry, algebra was not developed in Europe. Algebra was actually discovered (or developed) in the Arab countries along side geometry. Many mathematicians worked and developed the system of math to be known as the algebra of today. European countries did not obtain information on algebra until relatively later years of the 12th century. After algebra was discovered in Europe, mathematicians put the information to use in very remarkable ways. Also, algebraic and geometric ways of thinking were considered to be two separate parts of math and were not unified until the mid 17th century.

The Egyptians used sums of unit fractions (a), supplemented by the fraction B, to express all other fractions. For example, the fraction E was the sum of the fractions 3 and *. Using this system, the Egyptians were able to solve all problems of arithmetic that involved fractions, as well as some elementary problems in algebra. In geometry, the Egyptians calculated the correct areas of triangles, rectangles, and trapezoids and the volumes of figures such as bricks, cylinders, and pyramids. To find the area of a circle, the Egyptians used the square on U of the diameter of the circle, a value of about 3.16-close to the value of the ratio known as pi, which is about 3.14. The Babylonian system of numeration was quite different from the Egyptian system. In the Babylonian system-which, when using clay tablets, consisted of various wedge-shaped marks-a single wedge indicated 1 and an arrowlike wedge stood for 10 (see table). Numbers up through 59 were formed from these symbols through an additive process, as in Egyptian mathematics. The number 60, however, was represented by the same symbol as 1, and from this point on a positional symbol was used. That is, the value of one of the first 59 numerals depended henceforth on its position in the total numeral. For example, a numeral consisting of a symbol for 2 followed by one for 27 and ending in one for 10 stood for 2 × 602 + 27 × 60 + 10.

Maths is a subject that has always interested me, but looking at the roots of it is an aspect that I have never explored. I always knew that it is very open to debate, with various different opinions but I have always been intrigued by it, so I have decided to use it as the subject of my Extended Project.