Background Information for Teachers

If you are looking for problems in a historical context, the first three web sites below offer several. The last site is the mother lode of mathematics history, an overabundance of trustworthy, researched information on people and topics that have shaped the field of mathematics.

---

Famous Problems in the History of Mathematics http://mathforum.org/isaac/mathhist.html

The purpose of this site is to present a small portion of the history of mathematics through an investigation of some of the great problems that have inspired mathematicians throughout the ages. Included are problems that are suitable for middle school and high school math students, with links to solutions, as well as links to mathematicians' biographies and other math history sites. MSP full record

Using Historical Problems in the Middle School http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/%3fpa=content%26sa=viewDocument%26nodeId=419%26bodyId=405

This is a collection of historical problems drawn from medieval times, from a 19th-century American textbook and from a 19th-century Armenian textbook, and from other sources. Included are answers and, most often, complete solutions. The problems can be solved through arithmetic, measurement, and algebra skills covered in middle school. MSP full record

Completing the Square http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/%3fpa=content%26sa=viewDocument%26nodeId=600%26bodyId=1253

A major goal for algebra students is to understand, solve, and apply the quadratic equation. Useful as is factoring, it is not the original way of solving quadratic equations. The quadratic equation, as we know it today, was first discussed and taught by Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (790-850). He actually solved quadratic equations by the method we now call "completing the square." This site offers a visual explanation of the method.

The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/

This site has topical articles, short biographies of more than 1,300 mathematicians, and timelines. Helpful for student projects! Also particularly interesting are the overview of Indian mathematics, a history of zero, and biographies of female mathematicians. MSP full record

---

 Back to top

Copyright January 2008 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.