Archimedes

Archimedes prepared the way for integral calculus and approximated the number Pi. He discovered the law of leverage and invented new formulas to calculate the properties of cylinders and spheres. He once yelled "Eureka" while bathing, after having dreamed up the concept of specific weight while splashing around. He even specified the number of grains of sand that could fit into the universe: 1063. Until then the Greeks had merely left it at a "myriad" (or 10,000).

How to put your finger on maths

The results of numeracy and literacy tests for seven-year-old children can be predicted by measuring the length of their fingers, shows new research.In a study to be published in the British Journal of Psychology, scientists compared the finger lengths of 75 children with their Standardised Assessment Test (SAT) scores.They found a clear link between a child’s performance in numeracy and literacy tests and the relative lengths of their index (pointing) and ring fingers.Scientists believe that the link is caused by different levels of the hormones testosterone and oestrogen in the womb – and the effect they have on both brain development and finger length.The researchers made photocopies of the palm of the children’s hands and then measured the length of their index finger and ring finger on both hands using callipers, accurate to 0.01mm.They then divided the length of the index finger by that of the ring finger – to calculate the child’s digit ratio.When they compared this ratio to the children’s SAT scores, they found that a smaller ratio (i.e. a longer ring finger and therefore greater prenatal exposure to testosterone) meant a larger difference between ability in maths and literacy, favouring numeracy relative to literacy.

Economic Survey 2006-07

There has been an impressive growth secondary and higher education with the total enrolment touching 30 percent with a significant rise in the enrolment of women students, says the Economic Survey 2006-07.The survey, tabled in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, said in the higher education sector, there has been an increase in annual student enrolment from 7.26 million in 1997-98 to 10.48 million in 2004-05.The number of women students rose from 2.45 million in 1997 to 4.04 million in 2004-05, constituting 40.4 percent of the total enrolment.The survey added that the number of secondary and higher secondary schools have increased from 7,416 in 1950-51 to 152,049 in 2004-05. The corresponding increase in total enrolment has been from 1.5 million in 1950-51 to 37 million in 2004-05.It further said that the national literacy mission, which looks after adult education (15-35 age group), is trying to achieve a sustainable threshold literacy rate of 75 percent by the end of 2007.At present 101 districts are implementing the total literacy campaign, 171 districts running post-literacy programmes and 325 districts continuing education programmes for the above age group.However, the survey expressed concern that the gross enrolment ratio for 14-16 age group was 51.55 percent as of Sep 30, 2004. Of the 16-18 age group (Class 11 and 12) it was 27.82 percent.

math-phobia

THE KING of all arts is not rock. Definitely not. It's not cinema either. Not poetry, not painting. Not dance, yoga or poga. It is - hold your breath - Mathematics. After all, dance is about geometry, painting about patterns, rather algebra, as is music and the play of words. Art is about the logical and the illogical, about reality and the abstract, both elements of math. If it really is all that, math should be fun. If it isn't, the Ramanujan Museum and Math Education Centre is determined to make sure it is. In association with the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre, the Ramanujan Centre has organised a training course for school teachers to introduce them to an innovative Math curriculum for pre-kindergarten, KG and class one students. So kids will play games, solve puzzles and investigate patterns to learn Mathelang - the Mathematician's language, known in normal terms as algebra. It will be all play for the kids, mostly with patterns and designs for which they have a natural flair. Algebra at pre-school might seem to be a bit too early, but it's a pattern followed worldwide, according to the centre. The idea is to introduce kids to a mathematics not quite viewed as a bitter pill, but to a study of patterns, relations and structures. A math that they learn to be fun, that it's a game of intuition and imagination. The centre also reckons that pre-school is a good time to bust math-phobia at its zero, and to introduce algebra at a time of least learner resistance.

math learning can be enjoyable

THE PRESENT state of teaching mathematics in a majority of the schools is far from satisfactory. The rate of failures in mathematics is considerably higher than in other subjects. Many find mathematics a difficult subject. Limited English Proficient (LEP) students are often faced with the challenge of developing oral communication skills and academic skills in English. To succeed in the mainstream classroom, LEP students must learn both academic and communication skills. To develop academic skills, students must receive meaningful, relevant content-area instruction presented in a framework of appropriate English language development skills. There are two approaches for teaching LEP student's to improve their academic skills in mathematics, Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) and Active Mathematics Teaching (AMT). The NCERT, at the national level, and SCERT/SIEs at the State level have initiated several steps to improve the quality of mathematics education in our schools. The Association of Mathematics Teachers of India is doing very useful work in this regard. Nevertheless, ultimately it is with the classroom mathematics teacher that everything depends. Every teacher can do a lot in his/her own way, to make the learning of mathematics more enjoyable, leading to the qualitative improvement of mathematics education in our schools.

private school

Between 60 and 70 per cent of urban Indian students are located in private schools, the shift is quite large in even rural India as the latest Pratham survey shows -- while 16.3 per cent of rural children were in private schools in 2005, this increased to 18.8 per cent in 2006, which implies an increase of over 15 per cent in terms of the number of children.Private education costs a lot less, delivers better results, and yet politicians talk about increasing government education -- one of the focus areas of the 11th Plan is to universalise the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan through more government school. the government can still pay for schooling but let parents decide if they want to give these vouchers to government schools or to private ones. Second, on a per capita basis, the poorest 40 per cent of the country's population spends around 30 per cent of the all-India average on education -- since government schooling is free, this means they're either spending on tuition or are sending their children to private schools

ancient math

Indian mathematicians developed the
number system in the pre Greek/Roman era. The conceptualisation
of, and the mathematical symbolisation of, the Zero particularly
is acknowledged to be the gift of India. Sometime since the
visit of Alexander the Great, this number system reached
Arabia/Asia Minor. With the Moor Invasion of Europe, and the
Crusades, the number system reached Europe. Since the Europeans
got it from the Arabs, it became know to them as the Arabic
Numerals.Until then, Europe used the Roman numbering system (which is
based on the Roman Script/alphabet) where the progression is
somewhat clumsy in comparison to the Arabic. So that the
denotation of larger numbers becomes almost messy. And note that
there is no zero used in the Roman numbering system - even
though it too is a decimal system
Om prunamadah purnamidam purnat purnamuddachayate
Purnasya purnmadaya purnamevavashishyate.
That is the first, most enduring, and most concise
definition/descriptio of Infinity - both Divine and mathematical.

math news

A video clip of a Glebe Collegiate math teacher drawing what seems to be a perfect circle by hand has attracted hundreds of thousands of hits online in just a few days.

math series

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

what is π

The mathematical constant π is an irrational number, approximately equal to 3.14159, which is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, and has many uses in mathematics, physics, and engineering. It is also known as Archimedes' constant.In Euclidean plane geometry, π is defined either as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, or as the ratio of a circle's area to the area of a square whose side is the radius.

elementry math learning

Knowledge of mathematics can be useful in many respects, including decreasing stress and anxiety by encouraging children to think in a rational manner.The abstract concepts of mathematics make it a difficult discipline for children to understand. Experts have suggested that parents or teachers introduce abstract concepts using real situations and the experiences of children. "I teach my kid math by making him learn from real experiences.Properly taught, mathematics could one day be used by children to make sense of turbulent political times in an academic manner.Using math in every day life can help inspire children to make an effort to pursue studies of the discipline at a higher level in later years.