A Brief History of Mathematics Activity

A Brief History of Mathematics Activity

Task

This is a challenge task designed to explore the history of mathematics and key figures that shaped the subject. It is intended to be out of students’ comfort zone to test organization, resilience, research skills and logic.

Arrange the 60 pieces of information into 10 sets of 6.

Each set should contain the following:

1. The name of a famous mathematician
2. The year he was born
3. His nationality
4. His specialism or topic he is famous for studying
5. An application or use of his work
6. An interesting fact relating to the mathematician or their work.

Scoring

5 points per set (1 for each card correctly paired with a mathematician)

Preparation

Print the ‘mixed’ document out onto card (1 set per group or student). Cut into individual cards/pieces (60 in total + the instructions).

There is also a set of 10 assessment questions to accompany this resource.