Lily OBrien

Mr. Leonard
Algebra2/Trig Research Paper
May 13, 2013
The Life and Work of the Mathematician Hypatia

Hypatia was a Greek woman born in 370 in Alexandria, Egypt. Her name is pronounced
with three syllables, hahy-PEY-shuh.

Her father was Theon Alexandricus. He was a well-

known philosopher and professor of mathematics at the University of Alexandria.

Theon

provided his daughter a rigorous and extensive education in the fields of arts, literature,
science/mathematics, and philosophy. Under Theon Hypatia learned all that was known in her
day.

Theon also made his daughter do physical activities, such as rowing, swimming, and

horseback riding, to keep Hypatia physically fit. She was described as a beautifully and wellproportioned woman. Hypatia was also trained in speech. This contributed to enhancing her
ability to teach others. She was known for her giftedness as an orator.
It is believed Hypatia travelled to Athens, Greece to attend school (Richeson, 79). There
she established her fame as a gifted mathematician. On returning to Egypt, she was asked to
teach mathematics and philosophy at the same institute as her father.

Summarizing her

contributions to science and mathematics and as a teacher:

She was, in her time, the worlds leading mathematician and astronomer, the
only woman for whom such claim can be made. She was also a popular

teacher and lecturer on Philosophical topics of a less specialist nature,

attracting many loyal students and large audiences. (Hypatia, Encyclopdia
Britannica).
Hypatia was considered a pagan for her love of mathematics and science. She was murdered
in a brutal manner in the year 415 by a fanatical mob of Christians.
Contributions of Hypatia
The scholars Richeson (81-82) and Deakin (239-242) mention three major areas Hypatia
contributed to in mathematics and science. She wrote commentaries on three major works of
the ancient world. That means she edited the books and wrote explanatory comments to make it
easier to understand. She also contributed to writing a new version of Euclids Elements which is
the basis for modern geometry (Deakin). She also invented or built scientific instruments (e.g.,
hydrometer which measures density of liquids).
The first work is the book Arithematica by the mathematician Diophantus which is
concerned with algebra.

Diophantus is called the father of modern algebra.

His work

developed original methods for solving problems that, in retrospect, may be seen as linear or
quadratic equations and solving simultaneous equations (Diophantus, Encyclopdia
Britannica). These are areas of mathematics which modern high school students study. Algebra
teaches students about solving linear or quadratic equations, absolute values, For example, find
the value of x in 2x-1= 0. Or, if a car travels 50 mph, how far will it travel in 3 hours (distance =
50 x 3). Algebra also teaches advanced topics on graphing, factoring, polynomials, exponentials,
logarithms, and problem solving. There are many practical and scientific uses of algebra.
Algebra is the basis for all math including geometry, trigonometry and higher mathematics. One

cannot understand the advanced areas of mathematics without algebra. It is used in all areas of
mathematics, science (physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy, etc.), engineering and computer
science. (Algebra, Encyclopdia Britannica, and personal interview with my father, below).
Also, Hypatia edited the work Conics by the mathematician Appolinious. A conic or
conic section is one of the three curves: a parabola, hyperbola or ellipse (or circle) which one can
obtain by intersecting a plane with a (double sided) cone. (MacTutor History of Mathematics
Archives). A student studies these curves in high school.
Lastly, she contributed to the charting of the heavenly bodies in the work on astronomy,
Astronomical Canon of Ptolemy. I will not discuss this work.
Interview with mathematician
I interviewed my father, Francis J. OBrien, Jr. He is a Scientist at the Naval
Undersea Warfare Center in Newport. He develops patents for the Navy in signal processing
engineering and writes online tutorial papers in mathematics for high school and college
students, basically on calculus.
When I asked him how Hypatias contributions influences his work, he said, Who? and
laughed. Let me look her up and Ill get back to you. After he researched her work, he
provided a number of references and guidance in understanding Hypatias contributions which I
have used in this paper. Later he sat down with me and said all of his work involves algebra one
way or another. He said Let me show you one example. My Dad showed me an online paper
he wrote recently. The paper is General Cosine and Sine Integral of Powers, which deals with
algebra, complex variables, trigonometry, and calculus. He showed me some equations and
formulas from the paper and pointed out how algebra comes into play in the formulas and

equations (not that I understood it all!). For example, he used the famous Pythagorean Theorem
2
2
2
on a right triangle, a b c .

My Dad said Hypatias commentary on Diophantus Arithmetica is probably what runs

through all of his work although he said he has also used conics (the circle and parabola). He
also said much of his work is based on one of the most famous mathematicians of all time,
Leonard Euler. Euler used complicated algebra extensively in his works. Thus, Hypatias work
has contributed to the development of mathematics throughout history right up to the present
day.
I am proud that a female was such a famous person in a field that woman were
thought to be too stupid to understand much less being in her time, the worlds leading
mathematician. (Hypatia, Encyclopdia Britannica). She is also known as being
an outstanding teacher of this difficult subject. Hypatia is a true hero to me.

WORKS CITED

Primary Sources
Algebra. Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdia
Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 12 May 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/184192/elementary-algebra>.
Deakin, Michael A. B. Hypatia and Her Mathematics. The American Mathematical Monthly,
March 1994, Vol. 101, No. 3, 234-243. Print.
Diophantus of Alexandria. Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web.08 May. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/164347/Diophantus-of-Alexandria>.
Hypatia. Encyclopdia Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. 09 May 08 May. 2013.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279463/Hypatia>. Web.
Hypatia of Alexandria. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archives, 2013. Web. 09 May
2013. <http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Hypatia.html>.
OBrien, Francis. J. Jr. General Cosine and Sine Integral of Powers, Apr. 22, 2013, Web.
<http://www.docstoc.com/profile/waabu>.

Richeson, A. W. Hypatia of Alexandria. National Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Nov.,
1940), pp. 74-82. Print.

Secondary Sources
Grinstein, L. S. and Campbell, P. J., ed. Women of Mathematics. New York, NY: Greenwood
Press, 1991. Print.
McLeish, J. The Story of Numbers. New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine. 1991. Print.
Osen, L. M. Women in Mathematics. Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1992. Print.