discusses the existence of “non-standard” models of arithmetic. And floating-point
arithmeticis performed on real numbers by computers or other automated devices.What is arithmetic progression?
Arithmetic progression is one of the more simple types of series in mathematics. It is
usually in the form of a, ad, a 2 d, a 3 d, and so on, in which a is the first term
and d is the constant difference between the two successive terms. A progression is
also seen as these numbers are added, as in a + (ad) + (a 2 d) + (a 3 d) , ..., (a
(n1)d). An example of an arithmetic progression would be 2 6 10 14
..., in which dis equal to 4.What do computers and arithmetichave in common?
Computers and arithmetic have a great deal in common. Arithmetical operationsare
actually digital computer operations in which the numerical quantities are computed,
either through adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, or otherwise comparing
them. Arithmetical instructionsgive a computer program direction to perform an
arithmetic operation on specific types of data, such as addition, subtraction, multiplica-
68 tion, and division. The sections of the computer that carry out these computations and
When was the first arithmetic book published in North America?
I
n 1556 the first arithmetic book was published in North America by Brother
Juan Diez Freyle, a Franciscan friar. The name of the book was Sumario com-
pendioso de las quentas de plata y oro que in los reynos del Piru son necessarias
a los mercaderes y todo genero de tratantes: Con algunas reglas tocantes al
Arithmética. The title translates as Comprehensive Summary of the Counting of
Silver and Gold, Which, in the Kingdoms of Peru, Are Necessary for Merchants
and All Kinds of Traders. The book explained the conversion of gold ore into value
equivalents in different types of coinage in the Old World, problems that required
the use of ratios and proportions. Diez also included a short chapter on algebra.
The first English-language mathematics book written in North America was
published in 1729 by Isaac Greenwood and titled Arithmetik, Vulgar and Deci-
mal(“vulgar” refers to the common people). Greenwood’s life was also some-
what vulgar: He was appointed to the first Hollis Professorship of Mathematics
and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University in Massachusetts when it was
founded in 1727. By 1737 he was removed for “intemperance.” Reportedly, he
drank too much, and more than likely his views, philosophical and otherwise,
differed greatly from those of his colleagues at the university.