MATH TRIVIA

The numerical digits we use today such as 1, 2 and 3 are based on the Hindu-Arabic numeral

system developed over 1000 years ago. Different names for the number 0 include zero, nought, naught, nil, zilch and zip. The smallest ten prime numbers are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 and 29. 2 and 5 are the only prime numbers that end with a 2 or a 5. The golden ratio of approximately 1.618 between two quantities such as lengths often appears in

nature (tree branching, uncurling ferns, pine cone arrangements etc) and has been used throughout history to create aesthetically pleasing designs and art works such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Fibonacci numbers are named after Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (better known as Fibonacci) who introduced them to Western Europe after they had earlier been described by Indian mathematicians. They are related to the golden ratio and proceed in the following order: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, .... Can you see the pattern?

The number Pi (the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle) can’t be expressed as a fraction, making it an irrational number. It never repeats and never ends when written as a decimal.

Here is Pi written to 100 decimal places:3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679

What comes after a million, billion and trillion? A quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, decillion and undecillion.

The name of the popular search engine ‘Google’ came from a misspelling of the word ‘googol’, which is a very large number (the number one followed by one hundred zeros to be exact).

A ‘googolplex’ is the number 1 followed by a googol zeros, a number so ridiculously big that it can’t be written because there literally isn't enough room in the entire universe to fit it in!

Check out some more big numbers. You might have heard the word ‘infinity’ before or seen its symbol that looks like the number 8

placed on its side. Infinity means a limitless quantity or something that goes on forever. While it’s not really a number like 1, 2 or 3, infinity is often used in math as part of equations and formulas.

111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321 12 + 3 - 4 + 5 + 67 + 8 + 9 = 100 Enjoy some more fun numbers for kids. It is believed that Ancient Egyptians used complex mathematics such as algebra, arithmetic and

geometry as far back as 3000 BC, such as equations to approximate the area of circles. Babylonians measured the circumference of a circle as approximately 3 times the diameter,

which is fairly close to today’s measurement which uses the value of Pi (around 3.14). Chinese mathematics developed around the 11th century BC and included important concepts

related to negative numbers, decimals, algebra and geometry. Greek mathematics developed from around the 7th century BC, producing many important

theories thanks to great mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes. The Hindu-Arabic numeral system began developing as early as the 1st century with a full system

being established around the 9th century, forming the basis of the numerical digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 that we use today.

The symbols used for addition (+) and subtraction (-) have been around for thousands of years but it wasn't until the 16th century that most mathematical symbols were invented. Before this time math equations were written in words, making it very time consuming.

The equals sign (=) was invented in 1557 by a Welsh mathematician named Robert Recorde. Mathematical developments increased rapidly around the time of the Italian Renaissance in the

16th century and continued through the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries, becoming increasingly abstract in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The basic arithmetic operations used in mathematics are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Modern mathematics has advanced greatly thanks to the incredible computing power of today’s computers.

These days mathematics is important in many different types of jobs, including those related to engineering, business, science, medicine and more.

Tolstoy: "Some mathematician, I believe, has said that true pleasure lies not in the discovery of truth, but in the search for it." Carl Friedrich Gauss: "I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them." Carl Friedrich Gauss: "Mathematics is the queen of science, and arithmetic the queen of mathematics." John von Neumann: "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated

life is." Plato: "I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning." Archimedes: "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth." Rene Descartes: "Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare." Isaac Newton: "If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants." Isaac Newton: "Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things." Benjamin Franklin: "No employment can be managed without arithmetic, no mechanical invention without geometry." Johannes Kepler: "Where there is matter, there is geometry." Blaise Pascal: "It is not certain that everything is uncertain." If you liked those then check out our funny math quotes, as well as our Albert Einstein math quotes and famous mathematician

facts.

 

Triangles are polygons with the least possible number of sides (three). The three internal angles of a triangle always add to 180 degrees. An equilateral triangle has three sides of equal length and three equal angles. An isosceles triangle has two sides of equal length and two equal angles. A scalene triangle has no sides of equal length and no equal angles. A right angle triangle has one angle that is 90 degrees. An obtuse triangle has one angle larger than 90 degrees. An acute triangle has angles that are all less than 90 degrees. The longest side of a right angle triangle is called the hypotenuse, it is always found opposite the right angle. Trigonometry is the study of the relationship between the angles of triangles and their sides. Triangle shapes are often used in construction because of their great strength. Now that you're an expert on triangles, try learning about squares,quadrilaterals and other 2D polygon shapes.

Check out our famous mathematician facts for more. Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras lived around the year 500 BC and is known for

his Pythagorean theorem relating to the three sides of a right angle triangle: a² + b² = c² Greek mathematician Euclid is often referred to as the ‘Father of Geometry’ for his revolutionary

ideas and influential textbook called ‘Elements’ that he wrote around the year 300 BC. Archimedes of Syracuse lived around the year 250 BC and among other things, developed a

method for determining the volume of objects with irregular shapes. Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (better known as Fibonacci) lived between the years 1170

and 1250 and is best known today for Fibonacci numbers, the number sequence named after

Equilateral triangle

Isosceles triangle

Scalene triangle

Right angle triangle

Obtuse triangle

Acute triangle

him. Fibonacci introduced the number sequence to Western Europe in his book ‘Liber Abaci’ after they had been described earlier by Indian mathematicians.

The Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, .... In the 17th century Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler made important discoveries relating to

planetary motion and orbits. German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz lived between 1646 and 1716, developing important

calculus concepts and mathematical notation practices. Isaac Newton discovered the laws of physics and brought together many important concepts of

infinitesimal calculus. Much of the work done by Leibniz and Newton is based on theories by French philosopher Rene

Descartes. As well as his many contributions to philosophy, Descartes also had a huge impact on mathematics, creating analytical geometry, developing a system that describes geometry using algebra, contributing to optics and much more.

Born in France, Pierre de Fermat was an amateur mathematician who is best known for Fermat’s Last Theorem.

In 1642 French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the mechanical calculator. Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler was probably the most influential mathematician of the 18th

century, making discoveries in graph theory and introducing many modern mathematical words and notations among other things.

Born in 1777, German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss contributed brilliant work in geometry, statistics, number theories, algebra and much more.

Bernhard Riemann was an influential German mathematician who contributed to differential geometry and analysis, paving the way for the development of general relativity by Albert Einstein.

Born in 1882, Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who made important contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics, described by Einstein as the most important woman in the history of mathematics.

Alan Turing was a British mathematician and computer scientist who cracked German ciphers (codes) in the Second World War, contributed to mathematical logic and played an important role in the development of algorithms, artificial intelligence and the modern computer.

Born in 1953, British mathematician Andrew Wiles is most famous for proving Fermat’s Last Theorem.

I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I? 

Answer: Seven (take away the ‘s’ and it becomes ‘even’). Using only addition, how do you add eight 8’s and get the number 1000? 

Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000 Sally is 54 years old and her mother is 80, how many years ago was Sally’s mother three times

her age? 

Answer: 41 years ago, when Sally was 13 and her mother was 39. Which 3 numbers have the same answer whether they’re added or multiplied together? 

Answer: 1, 2 and 3. There is a basket containing 5 apples, how do you divide the apples among 5 children so that

each child has 1 apple while 1 apple remains in the basket? 

Answer: 4 children get 1 apple each while the fifth child gets the basket with the remaining apple still in it.

There is a three digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number? 

Answer: 141

What word looks the same backwards and upside down? 

Answer: SWIMS Two girls were born to the same mother, at the same time, on the same day, in the same month

and in the same year and yet somehow they’re not twins. Why not? 

Answer: Because there was a third girl, which makes them triplets! A ship anchored in a port has a ladder which hangs over the side. The length of the ladder is

200cm, the distance between each rung in 20cm and the bottom rung touches the water. The tide rises at a rate of 10cm an hour. When will the water reach the fifth rung? 

Answer: The tide raises both the water and the boat so the water will never reach the fifth rung.