Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
mathematics
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Babylonian mathematical tablet Ancient Egyptian numerals Egyptian hieratic numerals Egyptian seked mathematicians of the Greco-Roman world doubling the volume of a cube sphere with circumscribing cylinder conic sections conchoid curve angle trisection using a conchoid
For Students
mathematics summary
Quizzes
Equations written on blackboard
Numbers and Mathematics
barometer. Antique Barometer with readout. Technology measurement, mathematics, measure atmospheric pressure
Fun Facts of Measurement & Math
Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Define It: Math Terms
Read Next
number zero, 0 balloon
Is Zero an Even or an Odd Number?
bunch of numbers
Unusual Counting Systems
Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)
How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?
Discover
Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)
All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained
Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.
7 Deadliest Weapons in History
July, 2006, Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121. See attached for full caption information.
Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?
Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.
Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)
New Seven Wonders of the World
Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"
How Deadly Is Quicksand?

mathematics: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/mathematics
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Mathematicians just solved a 125-year-old problem, uniting 3 theories in physics • Apr. 26, 2025, 8:10 AM ET (Live Science)
'Prime numbers' discovery upends thousands of years of accepted beliefs and causes big security issues • Apr. 25, 2025, 8:01 AM ET (Earth.com)
WBJEE 2025 Admit card Out: How to download at wbjeeb.nic.in • Apr. 17, 2025, 6:23 AM ET (The Indian Express)

Facts

Also Known As math

Photos

Babylonian mathematical tablet
Ancient Egyptian numerals
Egyptian hieratic numerals
Egyptian seked
mathematicians of the Greco-Roman world
doubling the volume of a cube
sphere with circumscribing cylinder
conic sections
conchoid curve
angle trisection using a conchoid
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Gladys West
American mathematician
John von Neumann
John von Neumann
American mathematician
Mary Cartwright, 1947
Mary Cartwright
British mathematician
Understanding Newton's theory of universal gravitation
Isaac Newton
English physicist and mathematician
Galileo
Galileo
Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
British logician and philosopher
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
British mathematician and philosopher
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
German philosopher and mathematician
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
French philosopher and scientist
Helmholtz.
Hermann von Helmholtz
German scientist and philosopher
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Heisenberg
German physicist and philosopher
Archimedes
Archimedes
Greek mathematician
Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron
William Thomson, Baron Kelvin
Scottish engineer, mathematician, and physicist
Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno
Italian philosopher
Jean Le Rond d'Alembert.
Jean Le Rond d’Alembert
French mathematician and philosopher
Euclid
Euclid
Greek mathematician
Six astronomers, after Gerard Hoet (1692)
Hipparchus
Greek astronomer
Sylvester II, detail from the ivory vessel used at the consecration of Otto III, 996; in the Domschatzkammer des Aachener Domes, Aachen, Ger.
Sylvester II
pope
Henri Poincaré, 1909.
Henri Poincaré
French mathematician
Gottlob Frege
Gottlob Frege
German mathematician and philosopher

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Venn diagram showing sets and subsets of Triangles
Mathematics
Venn diagram showing sets and subsets of Triangles
Mathematics
Venn diagram showing sets and subsets of Triangles
Mathematics
Equations written on blackboard
Numbers and Mathematics
barometer. Antique Barometer with readout. Technology measurement, mathematics, measure atmospheric pressure
Fun Facts of Measurement & Math
Venn diagram showing sets and subsets of Triangles
Mathematics
Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Define It: Math Terms
Demystified
number zero, 0 balloon
Is Zero an Even or an Odd Number?