Given two vectors u and v, their cross product u × v is a vector perpendicular to u and v. The motivation for this property, however, is never addressed. Here we show that the existence of the cross and dot products and the perpendicularity property follow from the concept of linear combination, which does not involve products of vectors. For our…

Around 430 BCE it is reported that a typhoid epidemic carried off about a quarter of the population of Athens in ancient Greece. When the gods were asked what could be done to halt this raging epidemic, they apparently replied that the altar in the Temple of Apollo in Delios would have to be doubled in size. After several attempts to double the…

Thomas Kuhn (1962/2012) introduced the term "paradigm shift" to the scientific literature to describe how knowledge in science develops. The aims of this article are to identify paradigm shifts, or revolutions, that have occurred in mathematics, and to discuss their relevance to teaching mathematics in schools. The authors argue that…

This paper deals with a brief history of the most remarkable Euler numbers "e,"?"i"?and?"?" in mathematical sciences. Included are many properties of the constants "e,"?"i"?and?"?" and their applications in algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, ecology, business and industry. Special…

Theano, an associate, most likely the wife, of Pythagoras, has some claim to be the first woman to play an active role in mathematics. The question of how far this claim can be supported is here examined.

The focus of a parabola rolling without sliding along a straight line traces a catenary. We give some historical notes on this classical kinematical construction, observe that it was rediscovered in a recent article, and give a simpler and more geometric alternative derivation.

This article deals with a short historical introduction to determinants with applications to the theory of equations, geometry, multiple integrals, differential equations and linear algebra. Included are some properties of determinants with proofs, eigenvalues, eigenvectors and characteristic equations with examples of applications to simple…

This document contains all of the Minnesota kindergarten academic standards in the content areas of Arts, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. For each content area there is a short overview followed by a coding diagram of how the standards are organized and displayed. This document is adapted from the official versions…

Motivated by quaint woodcut depictions often found in many late 16th and 17th century ballistic manuals of cannonballs fired in air, a comparison of their shapes with those calculated for the classic case of a projectile moving in a linear resisting medium is made. In considering the asymmetrical nature of such trajectories, the initial launch…

This paper deals with the modern development of matrices, linear transformations, quadratic forms and their applications to geometry and mechanics, eigenvalues, eigenvectors and characteristic equations with applications. Included are the representations of real and complex numbers, and quaternions by matrices, and isomorphism in order to show…

Geometry is a major area of study in middle school mathematics, yet middle school and secondary students have difficulty learning important geometric concepts. This article considers Alexis-Claude Clairaut's approach that emphasizes engaging student curiosity about key ideas and theorems instead of directly teaching theorems before their…

The cycloid has been called the Helen of Geometry, not only because of its beautiful properties but also because of the quarrels it provoked between famous mathematicians of the 17th century. This article surveys the history of the cycloid and its importance in the development of the calculus.

Algebraic solving ability had been discussed by many educators and researchers. There exists no definite definition for algebraic solving ability as it can be viewed from different perspectives. In this paper, the nature of algebraic solving ability in terms of algebraic processes that demonstrate the ability in solving algebraic problem is…

Each year a high school math club selects an applications topic for a year-long study. This year the club members chose the study of Mars in its orbit from the perspective of Johannes Kepler's laws of orbital motion, which they applied to data available on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons Web site. Although not apparent at the time, the math…

This article describes how the author carries out an investigation into the geometry of the three possible curvatures of the universe. The author begins the investigation by looking on the web and in books. She found that the general consensus was that there were three different possible curvatures of the universe, namely: (1) flat; (2) positive;…