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Show LONG A PLAGUE TO YOUTH Schoolboys of Many Centuries Ago Had to Wrestle With Problems of Arithmetic. Tho modern schoolboy may find comfort In tho fact that for 3.G00 ycara schoolboys havo boon worried by just such dcBpornto problems In arithmetic as annoy him most. Among tho nrcbeologlcal discovorlos in Egypt is n papyrus roll, in excellent condition, dating from a period about 1700 13. C. This roll, which has a long heading beginning "Directions how to nttaln tho knowledge of all dark things," proves boyond a doubt thnt tha Egyptian of that tlmo had n thorough thor-ough Hnowledgo of tho oloments of arithmetic. NumorouB oxnmplcs Bhow that their principal operations with units and fractions woro mndo by means of addition addi-tion nnd multiplication. Subtraction nnd division woro not known in tliolr present form, but correct results wero obtained, nevertheless. Equations aro also found In tho papyrus. Hero is ono which brlngB tho Egyptian Bchoolboy homo to us: Ton measures of bnrloy aro to bo divided di-vided among ten persons in ouch a manner man-ner that each subsequent porson shall receive ono-olghth of a measure less than tho ono boforo him. Another ox-amplo ox-amplo given Is: Thoro nro seven men, each ono has sovon cats, each cat lino eaten Bovcn mlco, ench simian hns oaton-TBOvcn grains of bnrloy. Each grain of barloy would havo yloldcd sovon mensurcB of barloy. How much barloy haa been lost? Tho pnpyrua nlso contains calculations calcula-tions of area, tho calculation of tho area of a cjrelo, attempts at squaring tho circle, nnd finally calculation of tho cubic measurements of pyramids. |