Mathematics is the study of numbers and how they are related to each other and to the real world. There are many branches of mathematics, but the main ones are arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, statistics, and probability. Mathematics is as important as language. In fact, it is a kind of language of its own. Everyone uses mathematics every day, to tell time, to play games, to cook, to build things, and to do almost any kind of work. Without mathematics, the world would have no buildings, no roads, no electricity, no science, and no sports. Notches carved in bones and patterns drawn on cave walls reveal that ancient people began developing mathematical ideas thousands of years ago. People probably first used numbers to count animals or measure time. The first written records of mathematics come from Egypt, about 4,000 years ago. The pyramids the Egyptians built could not have been created without a very good understanding of mathematics, especially arithmetic and geometry. The Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia discovered fractions and created time measurements that are still in use. They were the first people to divide time into hours, minutes, and seconds. The ancient Greeks and Romans greatly expanded mathematics with many new ideas. The Greek mathematician Euclid, for example, wrote a book called Elements that is still used to study geometry. The Romans were a very practical people who used mathematics to build such complex structures as houses, temples, roads, sewers, aqueducts, and baths. This kind of mathematics is called engineering. During the Middle Ages most of the great mathematical discoveries were made by Arabs. The written forms of numbers familiar to most people are still referred to as Arabic numerals. The famous Arab mathematician al-Khwarizmi introduced the concept of al-jabr, which became known as algebra. In later centuries mathematics progressed as scientists used it to research other subjects. In the 17th century astronomers such as Johannes Kepler used new mathematical ideas to study the skies. Galileo and Isaac Newton applied mathematics to the study of motion, beginning the science known as physics. In the 18th and 19th centuries European mathematicians expanded on these ideas while also coming up with new theories of their own. The study of algebra in particular advanced during the 19th century. Today mathematics is divided into two general sections: pure and applied. Pure math is the study of math for its own sake. Applied math is the study of math for the purpose of solving real problems in engineering, science, technology, and commerce. Applied math may be used for making computers, predicting earthquakes, explaining how the economy works, or understanding the functions of the human body, among many other things. In short, math is used in almost every kind of study in the world. |