When my students grow too dependent on their calculators, I ask them to find a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives them 2. Students quickly see that since 1² = 1 and 2² = 4, the answer has ...
Originally defined as the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter, pi — written as the Greek letter π — appears throughout mathematics, including in areas that are completely ...
“Do you see the pattern? Each number in the series after the first two numbers is the sum of the preceding two numbers.” That’s how I began my last column focusing on the Fibonacci sequence, which ...
For nearly 200 years, "higher-degree polynomial equations" resisted any general solution. An Australian mathematician proposes an unprecedented method, eliminating irrational numbers in favor of ...
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