Math Story 1: The origin of Arabic numerals Xiaoming is a child who likes to ask questions. One day, he was interested in 0? These numbers are interesting: why are they called? Arabic numerals? And then what? So he went to ask his mother: 0? 9 since it's called? Arabic numerals? That must have been invented by Arabs, right? Mom. ?
Mom shook her head and said that Arabic numerals were actually invented by Indians. About 1500 years ago, Indians used a special word to represent numbers. There are 10 words, and you can write both strokes. Later, these figures were introduced into Arabia. Arabs think these numbers are simple and practical, so they are widely used in their own countries and spread to Europe. In this way, it gradually became the number we use today. Because Arabs have played a great role in spreading these figures, people are used to calling them? Arabic numerals? . ?
Xiao Ming listened and said:? I see. Mom, can this be called a mistake? Mother smiled at Xiao Ming's words.
Math story 2: the story of buying soup and drinking Once upon a time, there was a rich man in the local area who had never left home. One day, he took some money and some food to the street. After shopping for a long time, I felt very hungry, so I ate something, but I felt particularly thirsty and walked into a soup shop.
He found a place to sit down and shouted:? Xiao er, have a bowl of chicken soup. ?
Xiao er quickly served a bowl of delicious and hot chicken soup and said to the local rich man, there are twelve pieces in each bowl. ?
The local rich man said indifferently to Xiao er:? I have plenty of money! ? Then he felt in his pocket, and the rich man froze. There is a hole under the bag! He quickly rummaged through his pockets. Fortunately, he had ten pence, but how to calculate this account?
He had a brainwave and swallowed the soup again until it was almost finished. Xiao er came over and said, please pay. ? The local rich threw out ten pence.
Xiao eryi looked anxious and said, I just said that a bowl of soup is twelve pence. How can you give me ten pence?
The local rich man shouted to him again:? Have you finished my soup? Don't! I only drank one tenth and twelve pence of a bowl of soup, so I gave you ten pence! ? After that, the local rich man walked out of the soup shop patting his ass, while Xiao Er was still standing there thinking foolishly.
Math Story 3: One day, the Tang Priest ordered his disciples Wukong, Bajie and Friar Sand to go to Huaguoshan to pick peaches. Before long, the three disciples returned happily after picking peaches. Tang Priest asked Master? How many peaches do you each pick?
The pig said with a smirk. Master, let me test you. Each of us took the same amount of money. There are less than 65,438+000 peaches in my basket. If we count three peaches, there are 1 peach left in the end. You calculate how much each of us picked.
Friar Sand said mysteriously:? Master, I also test you. If there are four peaches in my basket, there is 1 left in the end. Calculate how much we each picked.
Wukong said with a smile. Master, I also test you. If there are five peaches in my basket, there will be 1 in the end. Do the math. How many did each of us choose?
Tang Priest quickly said the number of peaches he had picked. Do you know how many peaches they each picked?
Thales saw that people were reading the notice, so he went to check it. The initial notice said that Pharaoh wanted the smartest person in the world to measure the height of the pyramid. So I went to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh asked Thales what tools he used to measure the pyramids. Thales said he only used a stick and a ruler. He put the stick next to the pyramid. When the shadow of the stick was as long as the stick, he measured the length of the shadow of the pyramid and half the length of the bottom of the pyramid. Add these two lengths to get the height of the pyramid. Thales is really the smartest man in the world. He can easily measure the height of the pyramid without climbing to the top.
When Gauss was still in the second grade of primary school, one day his math teacher wanted to use class time to deal with some personal affairs, so he planned to give the students a difficult problem to practice. His topic is:
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+ 10=?
Because addition has just been taught, the teacher thinks it will take a long time for students to solve this problem. I can also take this opportunity to deal with unfinished business. But in the blink of an eye, Gauss had stopped writing and sat there doing nothing. The teacher saw it and called Gauss angrily.
But Gauss said he had figured out the answer, which was 55. The teacher was startled and asked how Gauss worked it out. Gauss replied:? I just found that the sum of 1 and 10 is the sum of1,2 and 9, 1 1, 3 and 8, 1 1, 4 and 7. And because11+1+11+11= 55, I worked it out like this. ? Hearing this, the teachers and students all gave Gauss a thumbs-up. Later Gauss grew up and became a great mathematician.
Mathematical Story 5 About 1500 years ago, European mathematicians didn't know how to use it. 0? Yes They use Roman numerals. Roman numerals are symbols representing numbers, which are combined to represent different numbers according to certain rules. Don't you need it when using this number? 0? This number.
At that time, a scholar of the Roman Empire discovered it from Indian notation? 0? This symbol. He found out he did? 0? It is convenient to do mathematical operations. He's happy. With Indians? 0? This paper introduces the method to everyone. After a while, it was known by the pope at that time.
At that time, it was the Middle Ages in Europe. The power of the church was very strong, and the power of the pope far exceeded that of the emperor. The Pope was very angry. He rebuked and said, The holy number that God has made is not in the number that God has made? 0? This monster, who wants to introduce it now, is blaspheming God!
So the Pope ordered the scholar to be arrested and tortured, and his ten fingers were tightly clamped with a clamp, so that his hand was disabled and he could no longer write with a pen. That's it? 0? It was banned by the ignorant and cruel pope.
But, though? 0? It was banned, but Roman mathematicians still ignored the ban and secretly used it in mathematical research. 0? Do you still use it? 0? Made a lot of mathematical contributions. What happened afterwards? 0? Finally, it was widely used in Europe, but Roman numerals were gradually eliminated.