Mathematical Expeditions

Exploring Word Problems Across the Ages
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4214-0438-7
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 208 Seiten, Format (B × H): 149 mm x 228 mm, Gewicht: 284 g

A little bucket, one-third full, is 8 inches deep, and its upper and lower diameters are 7 inches and 6 inches, respectively. How large is the frog which, jumping into the bucket, causes the water to rise 3 inches? Word problems not unlike this example are a staple on math tests and of abiding interest to students, teachers, and professional mathematicians alike. Frank Swetz, a highly regarded mathematics educator, gathers hundreds of these problems in this fun and fascinating introduction to mathematics from around the world.

Mathematical Expeditions is a collection of over 500 culturally and historically diverse mathematical problems carefully chosen to enrich mathematics teaching from middle school through the college level. What better way to teach students the multicultural aspects of math than by assigning them problems first composed on clay tablets by Babylonian scribes, included in the Rhind papyrus, or Vedic problems scratched on tree bark? From Egypt to Greece to China to India, Swetz’s problems—both practical and abstract—span centuries and cultures.

Swetz has organized the problems by culture and historical period, showing, through the various constructs and contexts of the problems, the history and development of mathematics throughout the world. Along the way, he tells us what various cultures knew about math and how they came to learn it, providing instructors with a wonderful way to incorporate multicultural mathematics into the middle school, high school, and college classroom.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Swetz, Frank J

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Philosophie der Mathematik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Naturwissenschaften, Mathematik (Unterricht & Didaktik)
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Geschichte der Mathematik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
1. Word Problems: Footprints from the History of Mathematics
2. Problems, Problems: A Resource for Teaching
3. Ancient Babylonia (2002–1000 BCE)
4. Ancient Egypt
5. Ancient Greece
6. Ancient China
7. India
8. Islam
9. Medieval Europe
10. Renaissance Europe
11. Japanese Temple Problems
12. The Ladies Diary (1704–1841)
13. Nineteenth-Century Victorian Problems
14. Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century American Problems
15. Problems from the Farmer's Almanac
16. Nineteenth-Century Calculus Problems
17. Some Sample Problem Solution Methods
18. Where to from Here? Where Do You Want to Go?
Acknowledgments
Answers to Numbered Problems
Glossary of Strange and Exotic Terms: Measurements, Monetary Units, and Culturally Relevant Words
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Swetz, Frank J
Frank J. Swetz is a professor emeritus of mathematics and education at The Pennsylvania State University. Among his numerous books are Learning Activities from the History of Mathematics; Five Fingers to Infinity: A Journey through the History of Mathematics; and Capitalism and Arithmetic: The New Math of the 15th Century.