This list was written by the June '07 Discovery and Uses of the History of Mathematics class on the first day of class, June 4, 2007.
How can I incorporate the history of math into my daily math lessons?
Why is the history of math important to me now?
Why do "they" have even and odd numbers?
What math function +, -, x, /, is the most important?
Why do you call multiplication repeated addition?
Why do we have negative numbers? Who thought up negative numbers?
Why does multiplying two negative #'s give us a positive result?
Why do two negatives multiply to a positive, one neg and one positive = neg?
How come -3 + 4 is +1?
Where does the theory of negative #'s come from?
Why do we have irrational numbers?
Why are there fractions instead of decimals (and vice versa)?
Why are there negative numbers? Who came up with the idea of negative numbers?
What is the point of imaginary numbers? Why are they called imaginary?
How do they know irrational numbers will never end nor repeat?
What's the point of irrational numbers?
Why were the Pythagoreans afraid of irrational numbers?
Why is a fraction 'n/0' considered undefined?
Who thought of fractional and negative exponents?
When was a zero power used first and why it is equal to one?
Why do you invert and multiply to divide fractions? Is there another way?
How can I use the distributive property?
Why do you cross multiply?
How do you solve 364/12 without doing the algorithm?
What's the deal with there being so many tricks with the 9's and multiplication?
Why were fractions invented and who?
What is the number base system and how does it work?
Why do we use the base 10 system? How was it developed? When & Where?
Why did some civilizations use something other than base 10?
What other base systems have been used? Where & When & How? How does a computer work with only 0 and 1?
What is base 60? How come we use Base 10 instead of Base 60 (like ancient mathematicians)?Why is time still in Base 60? Why did Plimpton 322 use a sexagesimal system?
Why are there letters in math?
Why do sometimes use f(x) rather than y in describing a function? Ex. y = 2x+4 or f(x) = 2x + 4.
Are radicals truly not allowed in the final answer of the denominator? Why or why not?
Why are the exponents written as raised numbers?
Why does √ mean positive square root?
How do use the infinity sign? Or when/where?
Why do we see phi everywhere? Why are certain Greek letters pi, phi, given to certain terms?
How come there are different alphabets for different languages but numbers are all the same?
Why can't historians all have the same account of the same events? (It shouldn't be that hard to tell just the facts!)
How much mathematics has been lost in wartime?
How did mathematics become a course of study? When did this happen?
How far back does the history of math go?
What were historical figures looking for when they discovered math equations?
Who decided the order of operations?
Why isn't 1 a prime number? How can I find the prime factorization of a number?
Who decided to call numbers prime? Why prime? Like prime rib?
Why are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, . . . called prime numbers? What is the prime factorization of 24?
Who decided to make matrices? Why is it row by column and not column by row?
Was math used in the building of boats, pyramids, carriages?
Who came up with the word asymptote?
Why does a foot equal 12 inches but a meter has 100 centimeters?
What civilization contributed the most mathematical discoveries?
Did math start controversy as much as science? Which came first math or science?
How did someone dream up or create calculus?
Who and when is considered the first mathematician? Who was the first person to use math?
Are there people like Euclid today?
How did Fibonacci get to be so smart?
How do math people come up with proofs?
Why are some people so driven to learn about math?
How many mathematicians came from educated families?
Were women really so "fragile" that they couldn't be taught math or was it just a way to oppress them into societal confines?
Why don't we learn more in school about famous women in math history?
Why do boys generally achieve more in math and science than girls?
What is considered unique to us/western world math?
Why do mathematicians have to "out do" each other? They all seem to want to prove their own theories but discount others.
How do people cluster numbers so fast?
How do you even begin to understand math?
How do some people think so much more clearly when doing mental math?
Were any mathematicians persecuted for their work - like scientists (though back then, these titles might coincide)?
Why do some people just have number sense?
Why is math so difficult for some students?
Are we genetically wired to be good mathematicians?
Why are people so afraid of math (when did it come so widespread)?
Why can't people remember math?
How come new concepts are hard to grasp if you don't have prior understanding?
How come math builds upon each concept?
Why is math so hard?
Why do all these formulas work?
How come my students find the easy math "hard" and "hard" math easy?
How come it is so hard to teach children to think analytically?
How come there are so many ways to get the same answer?
How come it seems that people either like geometry and don't like algebra or vice-versa?
Why is math so hard for some kids?
Why does it seem like only certain people understand math?
Why is there so much math in nature?
Why are "story problems" more difficult?
Why are there so many ways to solve a problem?
Why is math so complicated?
I think math got started as a need to deal with every day life. Did it?
What is the difference between math and arithmetic?
Why is the Fibonacci sequence found in nature?
How is the golden ratio important to regular people, to artists, to math teachers - do people still use it for practical reasons?
Why is it so difficult to find resources on non-Western influences on math?
How come it seems that historically different people from different cultures and places, had the same mathematical idea? Why does one receive credit over the other?
Why does math have so many different paths to the same conclusion?
How did all of the ancient civilizations know what they were doing (in math) without truly having a formal "math education"?
Why don't we use the Mayan calendar if it is so accurate?
Why don't we give more study/credit to Eastern math and South American math that were further along earlier?
Why does it seem that the civilizations that were the first "mathematicians" like Mesopotamia are the least "developed"?
Does a culture influence the way to see math?
Were ancient civilizations smarter than us?
Why does π keep going?
Why doesn't π ever end?
What do we need to know all about pi?
Why isn't pi just 3?
Who discovered. . . π/circumference and area of circles?
What is "e"?
What is "1" really?
Why is zero so special? Who came up with the concept of zero? Infinity?
Why is zero neither negative or positive and can it be both?
How come some numbers have meaning or superstition tied to them? (13 - unlucky, 7 - lucky, 666 - devil)
Why do we need to learn the quadratic formula? Where would we use it?
When do you connect the points on a coordinate grid and when do you not?
Why does the x,y,z axes orientation take the direction it does?
Why are they called binomials, trinomials, polynomials and who thought of degree anyway?
Why is it called a coefficient and not just numerical part?
Why do you need to know polynomial expressions? Why do I need algebra?
Who came up with solving systems of equations?
How does calculus prove the earth revolves around the sun and the elliptical shape of the orbit?
Why do certain formulas work? Where do all the formulas come from?
Why must we set up problems with unknowns?
How do I know which operation and/or formula to use to solve the problem?
How did people even come up with formulas?
How come the x-coordinate of the vertex of a parabola is -b/2a?
Who first used probability notation?
Why when you are doing probability to you multiply to get your answer?
Why does geometry have the root word geo? It means earth, doesn't it?
How come we have to learn geometry?
Who invented latitude and longitude? Was early mapmaking done by mathematicians?
Why does the Pythagorean Theorem work?
Why do we call a line segment a line, when a line never ends (ex. lines on this page are line segments not lines.)?
Why does a circle have 360°? A right angle have 90°?
Where did the word perpendicular come from - and why is it a "right" angle?
How is a square a rectangle?
Why is the area formula of the triangle ½ bh?
Why does the number line have + and - numbers?
Why is the formula of the parallelogram the same as the rectangle?
Why does the Pythagorean theorem only work with right triangles?
How come all triangle interior angles equal 180°?
How is math related to astronomy?
Why do we have to do math in science?
Why are there different scales for temp (°C, °F)?
Why don't we teach the historical side of mathematics in Elementary?
How did we determine math curriculum - what should be taught, to whom, when, and how?
What's the reason that there is a sequence to the subjects taught in HS (ex. Algebra before geometry? Why does Geometry come after Algebra?
Why is the book about women in mathematics in the "suggested biography" from 1974? Have there been no new women mathematicians of note?
In the book that I read for this class, I learned a lot about how there was so much emphasis placed on intellect and thinking and problem solving in the times BC. Why did that change and how can we reintroduce that love for a quest for knowledge?
Why do we have to do this? (#1 question from my kids) (5x)
Why do you teach math?
How will I/We use this in our jobs or lives? When am I ever going to use math?
Why is learning math important?
Why do most students shy away from math?
How come students hate math?
Why does it seem like I shut down when I don't know an answer to a problem (or a way to figure it out)? What can I do to help my kids with that?
Are there equations/mathematical thought to explain how life works on this planet?
How does the history of math affect my teaching of math today?
How is math going to help me in the future if I don't pick a math job?
Why are they called factor trees instead of factor roots?
In how many ways can I solve: ?
Why would I use clusters to solve a big problem?
How are percents, decimals, and fractions all related?
Why do mathematicians make up illogical problems?
Why do math and music have so much in common? Why are there so many different tuning systems (Pythagoras)? Why does the golden mean exist in music? Why do certain ratios produce certain sounds on an instrument (wind or string)?Why does the natural harmonic series have related ratios? How can serialism actually produce a composition that is pleasing to the ear?
Why was Calc 2 so hard in college for someone who breezed through in High School?
How come we don't use the metric system as other countries do?
Why don't we use the metric system (except in science)?
Why do we teach both the metric system and the US system of measurement to 4th/5th graders? Why don't we use the metric system like everyone else?
Why does the US use the metric system in science?
Why doesn't the US use metric? Why do we need metric?
What is the origin of area and perimeter?
What are the Chinese contributions to mathematics?
What is the origin of Pascal's triangle?
What is the Fibonacci sequence of numbers?
How does a person teach math with all the constraints schools require?
How can I get students excited about math?
How do I encourage problem solving in my classroom?
Why do we do algebra in pre-algebra?
Why does the math curriculum never seem to align quite right?
How many interesting stories can I learn about famous mathematicians?
What can I learn to change my teaching so that kids are encouraged to think about and explore math?
How do you teach children to think abstractly?
In Algebra, why do you always have to show your steps when you can solve it in your head? Why do we need to show our work?
Why does the American School system teach algorithms so frequently as compared to other nations?
Why is Algebra I the biggest predictor of success with HS students in mathematics?
Why don't math curriculum programs go back and spiral through what we've done - allow time for review/reteaching?
What is the justification for the sequence to teaching math to kids?
Why is it so hard to teach kids to have a sense of numbers?
How do you teach kids to monitor themselves as they work? They cannot decipher when answers are not reasonable or even in the ballpark.
Why is it so hard to differentiate math instruction? How do you make it easier for the lower kids? How do you make it tougher for your higher kids?
Is the Investigations program really going to work for all kids?
What happens when we don't teach math facts to our students at all anymore?
Why do I need to learn more than one way to multiply or divide?
Why must you show your work if you understand?
Should we learn computation first or should we learn analysis?
Why isn't it agreed upon throughout the world that everyone in every country learn the same curriculum (i.e. the depth vs. breadth controversy)?
Why do kids stop thinking when they have a calculator?
Why do middle school kids think it is not "cool" to be good in math.
Why do we have to memorize our (basic) facts? Why can't we just use calculators instead?
Why did you find the pattern in your answer?
How do I teach kids to think about mental math clearly?
Why does the graphing calculator solve problems using order of operations when other computers do not?
Why can't I use my calculator?