School math, multimedia, and technology tutorials.
Before computers, there were abaci (plural of abacus). They were used as a calculation tool for hundreds of years. They were popular to the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans.
However, history tells us that there were way earlier versions of the modern abaci we know. According to Wikipedia, they existed in Sumeria as early as 2700 BC. » Read more
Freemake is one of the best free downloadable video converters that I have explored recently. In this post, I am going to post a short tutorial on how to convert videos from one format to another in just 5 steps.
This will be useful to teachers who use videos and screencasts in teaching mathematics as well as other subjects. Note also that aside from video to video conversion, Freemake can also convert videos to audio format (e.g. MKV to MP3). » Read more
Problems about construction using compass and straightedge preoccupied mathematicians for 2000 years. The first three postulates of Euclid’s Elements (300 BC) involve constructions and the first proposition was about the construction of an equilateral triangle. Constructions of other regular polygons were solved, but the heptadecagon (17-gon) proved to be difficult. It was only solved by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1796 when he was just 19 (see the following animation).
Aside from the heptadecagon problem and other construction problems, numerous mathematicians attempted to solve the three most difficult ancient construction problems: trisection of any given angle, duplication of a cube, and squaring the circle. » Read more