In this short note I present an elementary proof of irrationality for the number "e," the base of the natural logarithm. It is simpler than other known proofs as it does not use comparisons with geometric series, nor Beukers' integrals, and it does not assume that "e" is a rational number from the beginning.

Windmill images and shapes have a long history in geometry and can be found in problems in different mathematical contexts. In this paper, we share and discuss various problems involving windmill shapes and solutions from geometry, algebra, to elementary number theory. These problems can be used, separately or together, for students to explore…

The regular pentagon had a symbolic meaning in the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophies and a subsequent important role in Western thought, appearing also in arts and architecture. A property of regular pentagons, which was probably discovered by the Pythagoreans, is that the ratio between the diagonal and the side of these pentagons is equal to…

In this article, we revisit the concept of strong differentiability of real functions of one variable, underlying the concept of differentiability. Our discussion is guided by the Straddle Lemma, which plays a key role in this context. The proofs of the results presented are designed to meet a young audience in mathematics, typical of students in…

We use the hyperbolic cotangent function to deduce another proof of Euler's formula for ?(2n).

In line with the latest positions of Gottlob Frege, this article puts forward the hypothesis that the cognitive bases of mathematics are geometric in nature. Starting from the geometry axioms of the "Elements" of Euclid, we introduce a geometric theory of proportions along the lines of the one introduced by Grassmann in…

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.

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…

In this article, a simple exercise for finding groups isomorphic to the symmetry group of the real line is presented. A mechanism for producing metrics on the real line is used to construct the group elements, and these transformations, by construction, are isometries with respect to the generating metric.

The availability of sophisticated computer programs such as "Wolfram Alpha" has made many problems found in the secondary mathematics curriculum somewhat obsolete for they can be easily solved by the software. Against this background, an interplay between the power of a modern tool of technology and educational constraints it presents is…

This article explores the notion of collateral learning in the context of classic ideas about the summation of powers of the first "n" counting numbers. Proceeding from the well-known legend about young Gauss, this article demonstrates the value of reflection under the guidance of "the more knowledgeable other" as a pedagogical method of making…

In this paper, some new results related to the integral mean value theorem are proven. This paper includes a discussion of Flett's Mean Value Theorem. (Contains 2 figures.)

In this paper, using the Lambert series and other known results, the authors consider the computation of a class of series involving the powers of generalized Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, and obtain their approximate values.

This note gives geometrical/graphical methods of finding solutions of the quadratic equation ax[squared] + bx + c = 0, a [not equal to] 0, with non-real roots. Three different cases which give rise to non-real roots of the quadratic equation have been discussed. In case I a geometrical construction and its proof for finding the solutions of the…