Math Trivia

When was the concept of zero

invented?
Zero is believed to have originated
in India in the 9th century.

How many digits of Pi have been

recorded?
Computers had calculated pi to 2.7
trillion digits in 2010.

When was the concept of infinity

invented?
The earliest record of the use of
mathematical infinity are from
Zeno of Elea in Greece, circa 490
BCE.

What is the record for

memorizing the digits of pi?
In 2006, Akira Haraguchi
memorized 100,000 digits of pi.

When was pi discovered?

Since pi is an irrational number, it
was very difficult to accurately
calculate its value. The earliest
approximations may have been
calculated in Babylon and Egypt,
but Archimedes was probably the
first to come close to its true
nature in Greece around 250 BC.
When was algebra invented?
Diophantus of 3rd century Greece
is generally credited as the father
of algebra.
When was geometry invented?
Euclid of 300 BC Greece is
generally credited as the father of
geometry.
When was calculus invented?
Gottfried Leibniz and Isaac
Newton are both credited with
inventing calculus independently.
Newton probably completed his
work first, but didnt publish until
1693. Leibniz published in 1684.
When was trigonometry
invented?
Hipparchus of 2nd century Greece
first developed the field.
Who invented the mechanical
calculator?
Blaise Pascal created the first
calculator in France in 1642.
What is piphilology?
The practice of memorizing large
amounts of the series of digits of
pi.

When was the metric system

invented?
Many people had previously
suggested a decimal system of
measurement, and the metric
system was first adopted by
France in 1799.
What countries use the metric
system?
America is the only industrialized
nation that does not use the
metric system. It has been
reported that Burma and Liberia
also continue to use the English
system of measurement.
How are the British names for
large numbers different from the
American names?
1,000,000,000 = billion in
America, thousand million in
England.
1,000,000,000,000 = trillion in
America, billion in England.
1,000,000,000,000,000 =
quadrillion in America, thousand
billion in England.
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 =
quintillion in America, trillion in
England.
What is a vinculum?
The number sign (#).
What is an obelus?
The division backslash (/).
What is an octothorpe?
The horizontal division bar (-----).
What is a virgule?
The division sign ().

How many ways are there to

make change for a dollar?
293.
The opposite sides of dice always
add up to what value?
7.
What is the Fibonacci Sequence?
The first two numbers are 0 and 1,
and each subsequent number is
the sum of the previous two. This
series appears frequently in
nature.
Among shapes with the same
perimeter, which will have the
largest area?
A circle.
What is a googol?
The number 1 followed by 100
zeros.
What is a googolplex?
The number 1 followed by 1 googol
zeros. There is not enough room
in the universe to write this
number.
What is exponential growth?
Growth rate that becomes ever
more rapid in proportion to the
growing total.
What is game theory?
This branch of mathematics that
attempts to predict the outcomes
of strategic situations has a long
informal history. It emerged as a
defined field of mathematics
following the publication of a
paper in 1928 by John von
Neumann.
What famous mathematician
said, Do not worry too much
about your difficulties in
mathematics, I can assure you
that mine are still greater.?
Albert Einstein.
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