Fermat's Technique of Finding Areas under Curves

Autor/in	Staples, Ed
Titel	Fermat's Technique of Finding Areas under Curves
Quelle	In: Australian Senior Mathematics Journal, 18 (2004) 1, S.53-54 (2 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0819-4564
Schlagwörter	Quantitative Daten; Calculus; Mathematics Instruction; Teaching Methods; High School Seniors + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Analysis; Differenzialrechnung; Infinitesimalrechnung; Integralrechnung; Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode
Abstract	Perhaps next time teachers head towards the fundamental theorem of calculus in their classroom, they may wish to consider Fermat's technique of finding expressions for areas under curves, beautifully outlined in Boyer's History of Mathematics. Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665) developed some important results in the journey toward the discovery of the calculus. One of these concerned finding areas under simple polynomial curves. It is an amazing fact that, despite deriving these results, he failed to document any connection between tangents and areas. The method described in this brief article is essentially an exercise in geometric series and is entirely accessible to senior students. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT), GPO Box 1729, Adelaide, South Australia 5001. Tel: +61 8 8363 0288; Fax: +61 8 8362 9288; e-mail: office@aamt.edu.au.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10