Quiz This week, its all about Mathematics
Preserved on papyrus: One of the oldest fragments of Euclid’s Elements, found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, and dated to circa AD 100.
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Born on December 22, 1887, this gentleman was able to make some legendary contributions to the world of Mathematics in the very short life he lived. He was so averse to schooling that his family had a local police constable to make sure he attended school regularly. By the age of 13 he had mastered trigonometry and soon began showing phenomenal prowess in the subject. Eventually his contribution led to his birthday being celebrated at National Mathematics Day in India. Who was this prodigy?
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This is an International standard that uses a 1:2 ratio (approximately 1:1.4142). If you cut theses entities in half crosswise, the same ratio will be maintained. The clever advantage of this system is that it is great for scaling up or down. It allows scaling without compromising the aspect ratio from one size to another. What object that you use on a daily basis is governed by this ratio?
Answer : Paper sizes — A4, A5, A3, etc.
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The Fibonacci series is made up of numbers that are the sum of two previous numbers — 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34... This coincidentally lends itself to being an excellent way to convert one unit to another in a particular factor. What are these two units, which you need to do the calculations for, if you were to go on a road trip in the United States?
Answer : Miles to kilometres. (2 m is 3 km, 5 m is 8 km, 13 m is 21 km...)
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4 / 10 |
This is known as the ‘X’ Problem. If there are 23 random people in a room, there is a 50.71% chance that two of them will share something. This is due to the probability of 365/365 = 1, and for the 23rd person’s probability = 343/365 = 0.9369. For all 23 persons the probability will be 49.29. Hence the probability of two people sharing this is (100–49.29) 50.71%. What would they share?
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Ancient Babylonians did mathematics using cuneiform numerals of which we have evidence since 2000BC. They use a sexagesimal system which means they calculate in base 60 and not base 10 as we do. Due to this unique nature and the fact that the Babylonians have contributed significantly to history, the legacy is still seen in our daily lives. Where would you see a remnant of this system today?
Answer : 60 seconds in a minute/ 360 degrees in a circle
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This person was a brilliant mathematician and known for his word play, logic and fantasy. He worked primarily in the fields of geometry and linear/matrix algebra producing nearly a dozen books under his real name. He is better known for his children’s book which he wrote under a pseudonym. In that book the central character says, “4 x 5 = 12.” It’s multiplication in base 18. Who is this author and where does this complex equation appear?
Answer : Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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‘XY’ is a double digit number where (X × Y) + (X + Y) = XY. Since it has an odd number of 1s in its binary representation, XY is sometimes called an ‘odious number.’ This number is far more popular in the pop-culture world than in mathematics. What number is this that you would find in the name of an American rapper, a novel by Murakami and songs by Deep Purple and Bryan Adams?
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This mathematician is credited with the discovery of the theorem of musical harmony and its basic intervals. He also believed that numbers possess genders — odd numbers were male and even numbers were female. He is better known for a particular theorem that he learnt from mathematicians in India and Babylon, and introduced to the Greeks. This theorem is one of the most popular ones and is often referenced in pop-culture. Who was this mathematician?
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‘X’ is the only number that is spelt with letters arranged in alphabetical order. Conversely, ‘Y’ is the only number that is spelt with letters arranged in descending order. When put together they spell out the sum of the first six prime numbers. What are X and Y?
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An obelus is a symbol resembling a small dagger. It comes from the ancient Greek word for a sharpened stick. It is commonly used to denote a simple mathematical function and you might have seen it on some old calculators. The first use of an obelus for this purpose was by Johann Rahn in 1659 in his algebra book Teutsche Algebra. Nowadays the obelus has started giving way to ‘Solidus’ which is what you would probably find on your computer keyboard. What function do these symbols refer to and what is Solidus better known as?
