Numbers surround us. Just try to make it through a day without using any. It's impossible: telephone numbers, calendars, volume settings, shoe sizes, speed limits, weights, street numbers, microwave timers, TV channels, and the list goes on and on. The many advancements and branches of mathematics were developed through the centuries as people encountered problems and relied upon math to solve them.
For instance:
- What timely invention was tampered with by the Caesars and almost perfected by a pope?
- Why did ten days vanish in 1752?
- How did Queen Victoria shorten the Sunday sermons at chapel?
- What important invention caused the world to be divided into time zones?
- What simple math problelm caused the Mars Climate Orbiter to burn up in the Martian atmosphere?
- What common unit of measurement was originally based on the distance from the equator to the North Pole?
- Does water always boil at 212 degrees Fahrenheit?
- What do Da Vinci's Last Supper and the Parthenon have in common?
- Why is a computer glitch called a "bug"?
Included are:
• Basic mathematical principles including some simple algebra, geometry, and scientific math
• Egyptian and Greek contributions to mathematics
• Math involving time, the seasons, and measurement
• Lots of fun activities illustrating mathematical principles
• Chapter tests (answers included in back)
• Over 150 illustrations and diagrams
