PERFORMANCE

TASK
IN MATH 9

1. EARLIEST METHODS USED TO SOLVE QUADRATIC EQUATIONS

Method used by the Babylonians

Babylonian' is a general word to describe the people living in Mesopotamia, a fertile plain
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (present day Turkey and Syria). The Babylonian
civilisation (dating from around 2000-600BC) replaced that of the Sumerians and Akkadians,
and so inherited their sexagesimal (i.e. base 60) number system. The Sumerians had created a
form of writing based on cuneiform (wedge-shaped) symbols, which the Babylonians also
adopted. This is how most of their texts have come down to us: as symbols written on wet clay
tablets which were then baked in the hot sun so the clay set and the symbols were
permanent. Thousands of these tablets have survived to the present day. Babylonian
mathematics was, in many ways, more advanced than Egyptian maths. They could extract
square and cube roots, work with Pythagorean triples 1200 years before Pythagoras, had a
knowledge of pi and possibly e (the exponential function), could solve some quadratics and
even polynomials of degree 8, solved linear equations and could also deal with circular
measurement. Babylonian mathematics was based much more on algebra and less on
geometry, in contrast to the Greeks. 'Babylonian' is a general word to describe the people
living in Mesopotamia, a fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (present day
Turkey and Syria). The Babylonian civilization (dating from around 2000-600BC) replaced
that of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and so inherited their sexagesimal (i.e. base 60)
number system. To solve quadratic equations the Babylonians used a method equivalent to
using our quadratic formula. Many quadratics are arrived at from considering simultaneous
equations such as x+y=p, xy=q, which yields the quadratic x2 + q = px. The Babylonians could
even reduce equations of the form ax2 + bx = c to the normal form y2 + by = ac using the
substitution y = ax, which is quite astounding given that they had no formal algebraic system.

Thomas Carlyle’s Geometric Solution

The Scottish historian and writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) devised an elegant geometrical
solution to quadratic equations, based on the "Carlyle circle".

x2 + px + q = 0

The circle with the segment joining the points (0|1) and (p|q) as diameter is intersecting the
p-axis, and the abscissae of these ponts of intersection are the required roots of the quadratic
equation.
In 1867 by the Austrian captain of engineering Eduard Lill published a visual method of
finding the real roots of polynomials of any degree.

Checking the box will mark certain points (p|q):

- p and q are multiples of the raster size, and
- the roots x1 and x2 are multiples of the raster size.

Select the raster size, or a continuous mode ("Raster off").

A table of p, q, x1, x2 is available by "Data Window".

Pythagorean Geometric Solution

Pythagorean theorem, the well-known geometric theorem that the sum of the squares on the
legs of a right triangle is equal to the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right
angle)—or, in familiar algebraic notation, a2 + b2 = c2.
This theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often
called the "Pythagorean equation"

a2 + b2 = c2.

where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's

other two sides. The theorem, whose history is the subject of much debate, is named for
the ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras.
The theorem has been given numerous proofs – possibly the most for any mathematical
theorem. They are very diverse, including both geometric proofs and algebraic proofs, with
some dating back thousands of years. The theorem can be generalized in various ways,
including higher-dimensional spaces, to spaces that are not Euclidean, to objects that are not
right triangles, and indeed, to objects that are not triangles at all, but n-dimensional solids.
The Pythagorean theorem has attracted interest outside mathematics as a symbol of
mathematical abstruseness, mystique, or intellectual power; popular references in literature,
plays, musicals, songs, stamps and cartoons abound.

2. EXAMPLES OF WORD PROBLEMS LEADING TO QUADRATIC EQUATIONS DURING ANCIENT TIMES

COMPARED TO THE PRESENT WORD PROBLEMS.
Examples of word problems leading to Quadratic Equations during the ancient times:
- A small hut measuring 12 meters by 16 meters is to have a pathway installed all around it, increasing
the total area to 285 square meters. What will be the width of the pathway?
- A hieroglyphic has a height that is 4/3 its width. It is to be enlarged to have an area of 192 square
inches. What will be the dimensions of the enlargement?
Example of word problems leading to Quadratic Equations in the present time:
Problem #1: A rectangular garden has an area of 14 m2 and a perimeter of 18 meters. Find the dimensions of
the rectangular garden. The figure above shows how to set up the problem.
Solution:
Let w = width and l = length

2l + 2w = 18

lw = 14

Divide both sides of 2l + 2w = 18 by 2 to get l + w = 9.

Using l + w = 9, solve for l. We get l = 9 - w.

Substitute 9 - w for l in lw = 14
 ( 9 - w)w = 14
9w - w2 = 14
9w - w2 - 14 = 0
- w2 + 9w - 14 = 0
w2 - 9w + 14 = 0

(w - 7)(w - 2) = 0

w = 7 and w = 2

3. SOLVING SOME ANCIENT WORD PROBLEMS USING THE METHODS DISCUSSED IN THIS CHAPTER.

Solving with the use of Pythagorean Theorem

Kelvin is building a gazebo and wants to brace each corner by placing a 10-inch wooden bracket diagonally as
shown. How far below the corner should he fasten the bracket if he wants the distances from the corner to
each end of the bracket to be equal? Approximate to the nearest tenth of an inch.

Let x = the distance from the corner

a2 + b2 = c2 2x2 = 100
x2 + x2 = 102 x2 = 50
x = √50

Answer:
Kelvin should fasten each piece of wood approximately
7.1” from the corner.

Solving word problems using Rhind Mathematical Papyrus

A circular field has diameter 9 khet. What is its area? The written solution reads:
Subtract 1/9 of the diameter which leaves 8 khet. The area is 8 multiplied by 8, or 64 setat.

Moscow Mathematical Papyrus

Problem 14 states that a pyramid has been truncated in such a way that the top area is a
square of length 2 units, the bottom a square of length 4 units, and the height 6 units, as
shown. The volume is found to be 56 cubic units, which is correct.
The text of the example runs like this: "If you are told: a truncated pyramid of 6 for the
vertical height by 4 on the base by 2 on the top: You are to square the 4; result 16. You are to
double 4; result 8. You are to square this 2; result 4. You are to add the 16 and the 8 and the
4; result 28. You are to take 1/3 of 6; result 2. You are to take 28 twice; result 56. See, it is of
56. You will find [it] right"
The solution to the problem indicates that the Egyptians knew the correct formula for
obtaining the volume of a truncated pyramid:

where a and b are the base and top side lengths of the truncated pyramid and h is the height.
Researchers have speculated how the Egyptians might have arrived at the formula for the volume of
a frustum but the derivation of this formula is not given in the papyrus.
SUBMITTED BY:
PRINCESS ALLAYNE FARIOLA

SUBMITTED TO:
MS. CARMI LUCHAVEZ