A
A priori, 267
Abacus, 8, 70 (ill.), 348–50,
349 (ill.), 462
Abacus: The Art of Calculat-
ing with Beads(Web site),
462
Abel, Niels Henrik, 36
Abel Prize, 36
Abscissa, 193
Absolute humidity, 305
Absolute value, 140
Abstract algebra, 132, 160,
161
Abu– al-Wafa–, 375–76
Academy of Sciences, 30
Accounting, 391
Achilles and the tortoise
paradox, 121
Acute angle, 174
Acute triangle, 182, 182 (ill.)
Addends, 91
Adding machine, 352–53
Addition, 91–92, 251–52,
252 (ill.)
Addition symbol, 93
Adjacent angle, 174
Adventure of the Final Prob-
lem(Doyle), 455–56
The Adventures of Penrose
the Mathematical Cat
(Pappas), 456
Aeronautical engineering,
344–45
Aerospace engineering, 344Ahmes, 14, 39
Ahmes papyrus, 39
Aiken, Howard H., 363
Air composition, 304
Air density, 308
Air pressure, 307–8, 404
Air quality index, 320–21
Air temperature, 304–5
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, 333
Akkadians, 8
Akousmatics, 384
Alberti, Leone Battista, 374
Alexander the Great, 10, 11
(ill.)
Algebra. See alsoLoga-
rithms; Polynomial equa-
tions
absolute value, 140
abstract, 160
algebraic structure, 160
array, 156
associative property, 142
Babylonians, 11
Boolean, 162
closure, 142
coefficient, 138–39
commutative property,
142
conditional equations,
141–42
definition of, 131–32, 132
(ill.)
dependent variables, 135,
136diophantine equation,
140
Diophantus, 16
distributive property,
142–43
equations, 133–35
expression, 133
factorial, 143
field, 160
functions, 138, 139
group, 161
identity equation, 141–42
identity matrix, 159–60
independent variables,
135, 136
inverse, 141
iteration, 143
Khuwarizmi, Muhammad
ibn Musa al-, 22
linear, 162
linear equation, 139–40
logarithms, 145, 145 (ill.)
mathematical operations,
141
matrix, 156–60
origin of, 131
Pascal’s Triangle, 439
ring, 161–62
simplifying an algebraic
equation, 136–37, 138
solution, 136
system of equations, 141
transcendental numbers,
162
variables, 139Index
483
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