Hello Negga,
I think maths has been/was/is a natural gift for many Africans....reasoning,
logic ....many discoveries took place in Egypt, Alexanderia...
... the puzzle asked by your mom is so neat and logical ...
I doubt many high school graduates (espec. Americans :-) )
would be able to do it.
Peace,
TG
>
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>
Selam:)
> Long long time ago my mother asked me to solve a puzzle she knew
> as a child. I was in grade 8. I took the puzzle to the class and this
> outstanding
> Math teacher, Kifleyesu Adhanom ( killed in Massawa bombing) solved it
> algebraically and mother was amazed at the so called algebra.
> Here is the puzzle; enjoy.
>
> There were three merchants with 9 camels carrying quintals of salt. They
> made it to Kebesa to sell the salt; but they had to divide among
> themselves equally.
> The problem is camel number is carrying only one quintal, number 2 has
> only 2
> and the 3rd one only three and so on; that means number nine is
> carrying nine quintals.
> Could they possibly share the same number of camels and number of
> quintals?
> This puzzle is in honor of my deceased mom who taught me to be nothing
> but
> fair.
>
> Thanks you all and good luck.
>
> Negga
>
> ------------------------- Begin Original -------------------------
>
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>
> ......It was during the end of the semester, our professor asked if we
> knew
> what the word "Alogorithm" stands for, a word which appredred so many
> times
> in our text books. (Big! class size 300+ students) .
> None of us knew .... Later, the prof told us ....
>
> Abu Abdullah Mohammad Ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi, 790-850 AD, Very little is
>
> known about his early life.
>
> Al-Khawarizmi ------> Algorizm ----->Algorithm
>
>
> Al-Khawarizmi was a mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He was
> perhaps one of the
> greatest mathematicians who ever lived, as, in fact, he was the FOUNDER
> of several
> branches and basic concepts of mathematics. In the words of Phillip
> Hitti, he
> influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other
> mediaeval writer.
> His work on algebra was outstanding, as he not only initiated the
> subject in a systematic
> form but he also developed it to the extent of giving analytical
> solutions of linear and
> quadratic equations, which established him as the founder of Algebra.
> The very name Algebra
> has been derived from his famous book Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah. His
> arithmetic synthesised
> Greek and Hindu knowledge and also contained his own contribution of
> fundamental
> importance to mathematics and science. Thus, he explained the use of
> zero, a numeral
> of fundamental importance developed by the Arabs. Similarly, he
> developed
> the decimal system so that the overall system of numerals, 'algorithm'
> or 'algorizm'
> is named after him.
>
> Peace,
> TG
>
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