Math in the Middle Institute Partnership
Date of this Version
7-2006
Abstract
Map making has been a scientific endeavor for mankind since the beginning of recorded human history (ca. 5000 years ago) and it is today more sophisticated than ever before. In terms of trigonometric functions there is evidence that dates back to Babylonian times that angles and distances from points on a triangle were utilized in measurement with significant amounts of work in this field done by ancient Greeks, Indians, as well as Arabic mathematicians. For example the ancient Egyptians utilized the trigonometric functions for surveying properties in order to determine how much of their land had washed away when the Nile River would flood, additionally, the near perfect squareness and the north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza built c. 2700 BC, affirm the ancient Egyptians skills in surveying.
Comments
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching with a Specialization in the Teaching of Middle Level Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics David Fowler, Advisor July 2006