Bobby

= Phase 1 =   Little is known about Yang Hui other than that he wrote several outstanding mathematical texts.He was a contemporary of both qun jiushao and li zhi, which we know from the dates on which his texts appeared, showing that he lived towards the end of the Nan Southern Sung dynasty. zhu shijie was only born about the time Yang Hui's first texts were appearing so his life also overlapped that of Yang.

There is a small amount of information about Yang Hui which he relates in his books. He tells us that he was taught mathematics. by Liu I who was a native of Chung-shan. which is south of Chekiang province where Yang Hui was born. Again we know the names of four of Yang's friends who were also interested in mathematics, but again as these men are unknown except for Yang's reference to them. The best guess that historians make is that Yang was a minor Chinese official. Most Chinese scholars of the period were officials, for there were no professional mathematicians.

Abraham bar Hiyya is remembered in the world of mathematics for his role in the dissemination of the quadratic equation.He also wrote two religious works in the field of judaism and the hebrew bible. It may be inferred that 1136 was the year of his death.he must have passed several years in southern france, as he composed some works for the provencal jews. He was, indeed, one of the most important figures in the scientific movement which made the quadratic equation.

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Yang_Hui.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_bar_Hiyya

Phase 2

1. Suppose a farmer has 1300 yards of fencing to enclose a rectangular field. What is the largest area that the farmer can enclose? 1300 200 1300