![]() Enter yourfraction in the boxes below and then click on the Convert to an Egyptian fraction button and the denominators of an equivalentEgyptian fraction will be put Denominators box and displayed in the RESULTS window.A Calculator to convert a Fraction to and from an Egyptian FractionAn Egyptian Fraction for t/ b is a sum of unit fractions, all different. There are also many unsolved problems concerning them, which are still a puzzle to mathematicians today. They had practical uses in the ancient Egyptian method of multiplying and dividing, and every fraction t/ b can always be written as an Egyptian fraction, which we will show further down on this page. It turns out that Egyptian fractions are not only a very pratical solution to some everyday problems today but are interesting in their own right. On this page we will look at how the Egyptians of 4000 years ago worked with fractions.Įgyptian FractionsThe Egyptians of 3000 BC had an interesting way to represent fractions.Īlthough they had a notation for 1/ 2 and 1/ 3and 1/ 4 and so on (these are called reciprocals or unit fractions since they are 1/ n for some number n), their notation did not allow them to write 2/ 5 or 3/ 4 or 4/ 7 as we would today. Also, calculations were needed for surveying (geometry) and for building and for accounting and for sharing bread and beer (given as wages) amongst several workers. Since early civilisations would need to predict the start of spring accurately in order to sow seeds, then a large part of such mathematical writing has applications in astronomy. The picture is also a link so click on itto go to the St Andrews MacTutor biography of Ahmes. It starts off by saying that the scribe "Ahmes" is writing it about 1600 BC but thathe had copied it from "ancient writings" which, from his description of the Pharoah of that timedates it to2000 BC or earlier. The hieroglyphs (picture-writing) on the papyrus were only deciphered in 1842 (and the Babylonian clay-tabletcuneiform writing was deciphered later that century). After his death at the age of 30, the scroll found its way to the British Museum in Londonin 1864 and remained there ever since, being referred to asthe Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (or RMP for short). ![]() ![]() Henry Rhind and his Papyrus scrollOne of the papyrus scrolls, discovered in a tomb in Thebes, was bought by a 25 year old Scotsman, Henry Rhind at a market inLuxor, Egypt, in 1858. The surprising answer is that the oldest ones are about mathematics! So what was on them do you think? How to preserve a body as a mummy? Maybe it was how to construct the extensive system of canals used for irrigation across Egypt or on storage of grain in their great storage granaries? Perhaps they tell how to build boats out of papyrus reeds which float very well because pictures of these boats have been found in many Egyptian tombs? Because there are deserts on either side of the Nile, papyrus scrolls have been well preserved in the dry conditions. Some of the papyrus scrolls date back to about 2000 BC,around the time of the construction of the larger Egyptian pyramids. When dry, these scrolls could be rolled up and easily carried or stored. The reeds were squashed and pressed into long sheets like a roll of wall-paper and left to dry in the sun. An Introduction to Egyptian MathematicsSome of the oldest writing in the world is on a form of paper made from papyrus reedsthat grew all along the Nile river in Egypt. section of questions to start your own investigations.The calculator iconindicates that there is a live interactive calculator in that section. Contents of this page The icon indicates a You do the Maths.
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