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Show Thursday, April 7, lBCt TOE VALLEY VIEW NEWS Page 8 First Prize Winner at Kearns Jr. High Math Essay Contest The Story of Mathematics by Irene Hatton, 8th Grade Mathematics is a big word; and it stands for a very big subject. It is like an octopus with many hands. Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus are some of the hands. lines, and angles. Analytical geometry combines algebra and geometry. Trigonometry deals with the measurement of triangles and angles. Calculus is a method of working problems by means of quantities which, stand in close relationship to one another. All these represent some of the more importused is Mathematics every day, ant branches of what we call pure in one form or the other, all over mathematics. the world. The grocer and the cab Mathematics is also used to solve driver use mathematics when they in other branches of scitake your money and give you problems in astronomy, in physics and back change. A carpenter uses ence; chemistry, surveying, in mechanics, mathematics when he figures out which deals with the action of how much material he will need caused forces by heat; and in many to build a house. When children sciences. other figure how much candy they can buy for a dime at two cents each, The story of mathematics goes they are using mathematics. Sci- back to a very early period in the entists use mathematics when they history of mankind, when men first make missiles. counted by making notches in Mathematics is a science based sticks or scratches on stone. Later on thinking in quantities. In arith- they learned to count on their metic the quantities are expressed fingers; early man found it conin numbers and we can write ev- venient to count by groups of ten. That is what we do today. The sysery number there is from the small- tem of counting by twelves was est to the largest by using ten figalso introduced in ancient times. ures, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The people of some countries In algebra the quantities are excount by twenties. pressed in numbers and in symbols. Algebra is really a shortcut to difSometimes men would use both ficult problems in arithmetic. One fingers and toes in calculating. of the symbols in algebra is X. X Such men would learn to count by stands for an unknown quantity. twenties. Counting twenties is by Other letters in the alphabet are now rather rare in our country. also used as symbols. Addition is But in the French language 87 is shown as -- - in arithmetic and sub- always written traction is shown by . When you The French count by twenties from put two symbols together as ab, 60 to 100. you are multiplying them. When When men began to write, they you put one over the other 9 you 6 used various signs to indicate are dividing b into a. Algebra has numbers. The ancient Egyptians many practical uses. used a separate mark - a vertical Geometry has to do with quan- line - for each number until they tities of space solids, surface, got to ten. They had a special sign for ten; it resembled a capital U turned upside down, or two marks joined at the top. Two of these signs standing side by side stood for the number twenty. In the early days the Greeks counted by making separate marks for each number until they reached ten, just as the Egyptians had done before them. Later they developed certain other methods for mow11 w indicating numbers. The Romans probably derived their numbers from the Etruscans, who used Greek letters to form numbers. In time the Romans sub- UTAiidl1ANi! COMPMY OAO. CY 94 stituted for these letters certain letters which resembled Latin them. We realize today that mathematics is the basis of all science. The chemist, the physicist, the astronomer, the engineer could not get along without mathematics. The banker, the insurance man, the accountant must know well certain branches of mathematics: so must a skilled worker. No other subject is more useful than mathematics; and those who know it best agree that no other THE BEST IS THE CHEAPEST CHOOSE ARMSTRONG America's only Quality Furnace WITH A FACTORY WRITTEN UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTY Complete Financing - No Down Payment MOUNTAIN HEATING 4774 So. Redwood Rd. AM 6-44- 83 subject is more interesting. four-twenties-sev- CLEAN . . . 670 x 15 SPECIAL 7,s Full Kecap Plus Ex. Tax and Recappable Tire UPS TIRE SEW 2784 West 3500 South mvkvc.v w-- I k ' i or -.V.'V TfxTT.V.' j Cvv .V'f ilcvwR'itji,! . ' fi sv t -- f. Y'h; - . N -- t ci 'v.r. j Tixx:. v, ; . Br.vvi-- x " j' 'F ' t A! 's a .v ";;",vTrr I to A T ' . v' , . Hnyal Cluh.f . s W' ' V . V' ,1 Double . 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