The 2nd degree equations are solved through a mathematical expression attributed to the Indian mathematician Bhaskara. But analyzing the timeline of the facts, we identified several men linked to development of Mathematics, contributing to the elaboration of a practical way for the development of such equations.
Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks used techniques capable of solving this type of equation years before Christ. Babylonians and Egyptians used texts and symbols as an auxiliary tool in the resolution. The Greeks were able to complete their resolutions by making associations with geometry, as they had a geometric form to solve problems related to 2nd degree equations.
Among the Indians, the mathematicians Sridhara, Bramagupta and Bhaskara also contributed to the development of Mathematics, providing important information about 2nd degree equations. Sridhara was the first to establish a mathematical formula for solving bisquare equations, as Bramagupta and Bhaskara worked using texts. The Arabs were brilliantly represented by al-Khowarizmi, who, drawing on the work of the Greeks, created methodologies for solving 2nd degree equations. The geometric representations used by al-Khowarizmi are influenced by Euclid.
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It was with the French Viète that the solving method of the 2nd degree equations gained as symbols, the letters. Viète is responsible for modernizing algebra. His works were developed by another Frenchman, named René Descartes.
We can observe that the mathematical expression currently used to solve a 2nd degree equation should not be attributed only to one person, but to several researchers who, through countless works, developed the following expression:
Note that the development of Mathematics is linked to a sequence of facts that are correlated with each other. As much as we have a definitive expression for solving 2nd degree equations, it would be blunt to say that many still research and work on this expression in order to discover new ways to find the roots of a 2nd degree equation.
by Mark Noah
Graduated in Mathematics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Marcos Noé Pedro da. "The Emergence of the 2nd Degree Equation"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/matematica/o-surgimento-equacao-2-o-grau.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
