PREVIEW

Exploring the World of Mathematics: From Ancient Record Keeping to the Latest Advances in Computers (Book/ Paperback)

Product Overview

Numbers surround us. Just try to make it through a day without using any. It’s impossible: telephone numbers, calendars, volume settings, shoe sizes, speed limits, weights, street numbers, microwave timers, TV channels, and the list goes on and on. The many advancements and branches of mathematics were developed through the centuries as people encountered problems and relied upon math to solve them. For instance:


What timely invention was tampered with by the Caesars and almost perfected by a pope?
Why did ten days vanish in September of 1752?
How did Queen Victoria shorten the Sunday sermons at chapel?
What important invention caused the world to be divided into time zones?
What simple math problem caused the Mars Climate Orbiter to burn up in the Martian atmosphere?
What common unit of measurement was originally based on the distance from the equator to the North Pole?
Does water always boil at 212° Fahrenheit?
What do Da Vinci’s Last Supper and the Parthenon have in common?
Why is a computer glitch called a “bug”?
It’s amazing how ten simple digits can be used in an endless number of ways to benefit man. The development of these ten digits and their many uses is the fascinating story you hold in your hands: Exploring the World of Mathematics.

About the Author(s)

John Hudson Tiner is the author of textbooks, science curriculum material, character-building biographies, and books on a variety of other subjects. His books entertain while they increase a person's knowledge of the essentials of the subject. He has a master's degree from Duke University. He brings a wide range of exciting facts together to write more than 1,000 published manuscripts, including 80 books, for all age groups. He is well known for his books for teens and young people including the "Exploring the World of" series for Master book and the Sowers Series for Mott Media. He says, "Young readers of today deserve to experience the thrill and wonder of learning about science. They delight in learning new facts, especially if the facts are presented in an exciting way." John Hudson Tiner's popular biographies tell the lives of people who left the world in a better condition than they found it. He says, "After the research is finished, a wonderful moment occurs when the story takes over and the characters come alive. I am no longer a writer, but a time traveler who stands unobserved in the shadows and reports the events as they occur." His material has been translated into a variety of languages including Spanish, Russian, and German.