Egyptian Fractions Revisited
It is well known that the ancient Egyptians represented each fraction as a sum of unit fractions - i.e., fractions with unit numerators; this is how they, e.g., divided loaves of bread. What is not clear is why they used this representation. In this paper, we propose a new explanation: crudely speak...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Vilnius University
2009-04-01
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| Series: | Informatics in Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mii.lt/informatics_in_education/pdf/INFE145.pdf |
| Summary: | It is well known that the ancient Egyptians represented each fraction as a sum of unit fractions - i.e., fractions with unit numerators; this is how they, e.g., divided loaves of bread. What is not clear is why they used this representation. In this paper, we propose a new explanation: crudely speaking, that the main idea behind the Egyptian fractions provides an optimal way of dividing the loaves. We also analyze the related properties of fractions. |
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| ISSN: | 1648-5831 |