Mathematicians Scavenger Hunt

Mathematician Scavenger Hunt 1. What is the ‘witch of Agnesi’? In mathematics, the witch of Agnesi, sometimes called the witch of Maria Agnesi (named for Maria Agnesi) is the curve defined as follows. Starting with a fixed circle, a point O on the circle is chosen. For any other point A on the circle, the secant line OA is drawn. The point M is diametrically opposite O. The line OA intersects the tangent at M at the point N. The line parallel to OM through N, and the line perpendicular to OM through A intersect at P. As the point A is varied, the path of P is the witch. The curve is asymptotic to the line tangent to the fixed circle through the point O.

2. How many brothers and sisters did Marie Agnesi have? 20 3. What extraordinary thing did Marie Agnesi accomplish at the age of 9? When she was 9 years old, she composed and delivered an hour-long speech in Latin to an academic gathering. The subject was women's right to be educated. 4. How many languages had she learned? Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Latin, French and Italian 5. How was education for women like Marie Agnesi viewed in the Middle Ages? 6. What was different about Italy and it’s beliefs at this time? 7. What career did Lady Byron not want Ada Lovelace to be? discouraging literary study 8. What was Ada’s favorite subject at age six? 9. What was Ada king most noted for, which many believe to

be the first of its kind? 10. What are four of Lovelaces vices? drinking, gambling and scandal 11. What moved Sophie Germain to become a Mathematician? At age 3, she read about Archimedes in a book in her father's extensive library. In it, she read that during the Roman invasion of Syracuse, Archimedes was so engrossed in his mathematics that he ignored a Roman soldier who thereupon killed him without comprehending the fame of his victim. Explain why. She thought that if someone could be so interested by mathematics as to not realize somebody was about to kill him, it must be an incredibly interesting subject. 12. What pseudonym did Sophie Germain adopt and why? "Monsieur Le Blanc", a former student of Lagrange's. Germain was particularly interested in Joseph-Louis Lagrange's teachings and submitted papers and assignments under the pseudonym "Monsieur Le Blanc", a former student of Lagrange's. Lagrange was so impressed by the paper that he asked to meet with Le Blanc, and Germain was forced to reveal her identity to him. 13. What is Sophie Germain’s main mathematical accomplishment? One of her most famous identities; commonly known as Sophie Germain's Identity, states that for any two numbers x and y: x4 + 4y4 = (x2 + 2y2 + 2xy)(x2 + 2y2 - 2xy). 14. Why did Sophie not appear to accept her award from the 1815 competition? She failed 15. What does Sophie Germain’s death certificate list her occupation as? 16. During World War II, where did Louise Hay and her brother escape to ? 17. How did Louise Hay support her family when she was in High School? 18. How did Louise Hay support herself through college? 19. What award is named after Louise Hay and what is its purpose? 20. Who persuaded Euler to pursue math as a career? Johann Bernoulli

21. How many children did Leonard Euler and his wife have? 13 22. What was the health problem Euler hid from his family and what happened as a result of the illness?

23. Name 6 mathematical contributions thay we owe to Euler. 24. Write a short synopsis on Leohnard Euler books ‘Analysis Infinitorum’. 25. What did Leonhard Euler die from? 26. Who is Rene Descartes an how did he change geometry? 27. What did the placard have on it that Rene Descartes was asked to read by Isaac Beekman. 28. Describe Descartes personality? 29. What were Descartes main contributions to mathematics? 30. Why did Descartes not get up before 11am ? 31. Why is the birth date of Charles Babbage so unclear? 32. Babbage is the originator of what technology? 33. What other Mathematical contributions is Babbage Credited for? 34. What led him to this invention? 35. What tragedy happened in 1827? 36. When was it first noticed the Carl Gauss had a potential for math? 37. What is the sum of the numbers form 1 to 100? 38. Besides modular arithmetic, what other discoveries did Gauss make? 39. Okay, who was paying attention? Answer the following. They could be anywhere? 40. Whose illness led them to die of pnumonia? 41. Who went blind because of an illness? 42. Who applied algebra to Geometry? 43. Who corrected his fathers computations at the age of three? 44. Which mathematician led a sultry life? 45. What was the first computer capable of calculating? 46. What mathematician studied in this webquest worked closely with Charles Babbage? 47. Who spent most of their life helping the poor and thesick?