Premium
Revisiting an Ancient Problem Through Contemporary Discourse
Author(s) -
Abramovich Sergei
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
school science and mathematics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1949-8594
pISSN - 0036-6803
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-8594.1999.tb17463.x
Subject(s) - pythagorean theorem , fermat's last theorem , pythagorean triple , conjecture , mathematics education , visualization , computer science , algebra over a field , mathematics , theoretical computer science , artificial intelligence , pure mathematics , geometry
This article presents a computer‐mediated discourse on the Pythagorean equation in a university classroom of preservice and in‐service teachers. It shows how the use of a spreadsheet as a two‐dimensional modeling tool enables students to conjecture the general solution to the Pythagorean equation. A computational approach to the ancient problem improves the well‐known off‐computer discussion. The environment also provides a kind of a visualization of Fermat's Last Theorem.