Algebra in Islam

J. L. Berggren
Additional contact information
J. L. Berggren: Simon Fraser University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Chapter Chapter 4 in Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam, 1986, pp 99-126 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Many ancient mathematical works contain problems requiring the discovery of an unknown quantity. Sometimes this is a geometrical magnitude which is related by the conditions of the problem to known magnitudes, one example being the problem solved in Euclid’s Elements II,11 of dividing a given line segment AB into segments AG and GB so that the rectangle whose sides are AB and GB is equal to the square whose side is AG (Fig. 4.1). Here there is one known magnitude, AB, one unknown segment, AG, for GB = AB - AG. and the one condition that AB⋅GB = AG2. The reader will recall that this is the division of a line segment into “the section” we spoke of in Chapter 3 in our discussion of Problem 5 of Abu l-Wafā’’s treatise in which a pentagon was inscribed in a circle.

Keywords: Line Segment; Quadratic Equation; Unknown Quantity; Islamic World; False Position (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1986
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-1-4612-4608-4_4

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9781461246084

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4608-4_4

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().