Introduction

This book is designed for you. Its main purpose is to get to-

gether in one place a wide variety of useful and interesting

information involving calculators, the world around you, and

mathematics. It s designed to be a working tool that, when

used with your calculator, becomes a system for problem solv-

ing as well as a key to discovery. We hope you ll have fun

reading and exploring with it.

The Story of Mathematics

It is said that mathematics began long ago in Early Egypt. The

Nile River would flood on occasion and wash away all landmarks

and monuments. People needed a way to know where their land

was after these floods, so methods of earth measurement (later

to be called Geometry) were invented. The Greeks, always

thinking, picked up those techniques, developed them further,

and added new ideas such as Algebra and Trigonometry. Math was

off and running. It was used in oceanic exploration. It was