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https://scholarhub.balamand.edu.lb/handle/uob/2331| Title: | On the Egyptian method of decomposing 2/n into unit fractions | Authors: | Abdulaziz, Abdulrahman Ali | Affiliations: | Department of Mathematics | Keywords: | Rhind papyrus Ahmes 2:n-table Egyptian fraction |
Issue Date: | 2008 | Part of: | Journal of historia mathematica | Volume: | 35 | Issue: | 1 | Start page: | 1 | End page: | 18 | Abstract: | A fraction whose numerator is one is called a unit fraction. Unit fractions have been the source of one of the most intriguing mysteries about the mathematics of antiquity. Except for 2/3, the ancient Egyptians expressed all fractions as sums of unit fractions. In particular, The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (RMP) contains the decomposition of 2/n as the sum of unit fractions for odd n ranging from 5 to 101. The way 2/n was decomposed has been widely debated and no general method that works for all n has ever been discovered. In this paper we provide an elementary procedure that reproduces the decompositions as found in the RMP. |
URI: | https://scholarhub.balamand.edu.lb/handle/uob/2331 | DOI: | 10.1016/j.hm.2007.03.002 | Ezproxy URL: | Link to full text | Type: | Journal Article |
| Appears in Collections: | Department of Mathematics |
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