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Biography of mathematician Archimedes

Submitted by

Name: Sudikshya Rai

Class XI Science
Section: B

Submitted to
Name: Badri Tamang

Department of Mathematic
Depot Higher Secondary school
Ghopa, Dharan-18
2078-2079
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FOREWORD

This project work is about biography of a one the greatest scientists Archimedes.
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and
inventor. He is considered the father of mathematics and also as an outstanding
astronomer. He was born around 287 B.C in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, Greece.
His father’s name was Phidias who was an astronomer. There is not much
information available about his life. Sources reveal that he started his studies in the
school that was established by the Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria,
Egypt. After pursuing his studies, he went back to Syracuse to live in his native city.
He died in somewhere around 212 B.C or 211 B.C. He made many contributions.
Some of them are the archimedes’ principle, the law of lever, the invention of
archimedes’ screw and many more.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, student of class XI Science sincerely thank Mr. Badri Tamang my teacher for the
subject of Mathematics who has been a constant source of inspiration and guidance
throughout my project work.

My sincere thanks to my coordinator Mr. Biran Limbu who has encouraged me to

get this project accomplished.

With Thanks!

Yours faithfully
Sudikshya Rai

Class XI Science
Section: B
Date:2079/01/11
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DECLAERATION

This is to certify that Miss. Sudikshya Rai of class XI Science of Depot Higher
Secondary School, Dharan 18 has completed her project work under my supervision.
She has taken proper care and shown utmost sincerity in completion of the project.
I certify that the project completed are up to my expectations and as per guidance
issued by H.S.E.B.

Signature
Name of supervisor: Badri Tamang
Name of Department: Depot Higher Sec. School
Date: 2079/01/11
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TABLE OF CONTENT

• Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………Page:6-7
• Inventions, discoveries and
Contributions:
1.THE ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE ………………………………………………..Page:8

2. THE LAW OF LEVER ……………………………………………………………………...Page:9

3.INVENTION OF METHODS SIMILAR

TO CALCULUS ……………………………………………………………………………………Page:9-10

4. EVALUATION OF PI (π) ………………………………………………………………..Page:10

5.DERIVATION OF A FORMULA FOR SURFACE

AREA AND VOLUME OF A SPHERE ……………………………………….Page:10

6.ARCHIMEDES WAS THE FIRST TO

USE THE CONCEPT OF ACTUAL INFINITY ………………………...Page:11

7.THE INVENTION OF ARCHIMEDES’ SCREW ……………………..Page:11-12

8.INVENTION OF THE CLAW OF ARCHIMEDES ………………….Page:12

9.INVENTION OF THE ODOMETER Page:12

………………………………………………………………………..

10.ARCHIMEDES’ CATAPULTS …………………………………………………….Page:13

11.ARCHIMEDES'S INVENTION OF THE COMPOUND

PULLEY ……………………………………………………………………………………………….Page:13
• Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………….Page:14
• References and bibliography …………………………………………….Page:15
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INTRODUCTION
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and
inventor. Archimedes is one of the more interesting characters in the history of
Ancient Greece. He lived in the city of Syracuse where he solved problems and
created inventions for the king. He was one of the great mathematicians in world
history and made many early discoveries. Archimedes is considered the father of
mathematics because of his notable inventions in mathematics and science. He is
also known as an outstanding astronomer.

Archimedes was born around 287 B.C in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, Greece.
His father’s name was Phidias who was an astronomer. Going by Plutarch, he might
have been related to King of Syracuse, Hieron and his son Gelon. Heracleides
(Archimedes’ friend) had written a biography on him but unfortunately this work
had been lost and there is not much information available about his life. Sources
reveal that he started his studies in the school that was established by the Greek
mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Egypt. After pursuing his studies, he went back
to Syracuse to live in his native city. One of his favorite areas of study was
catoptrics—the branch of optics dealing with the reflection of light from mirrors,
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plane or curved. Along with arithmetic and science, Archimedes was also interested
in poetry, arts, and music.
Not much information about his personal life is available but historians believe that
he breathed his last breath somewhere around 212 B.C or 211 B.C. This was when
Syracuse was conquered by Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus and
Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier. It is said that Archimedes was working
on a mathematical diagram when a soldier approached him saying that the general
wanted to meet him, but he refused saying that he had to finish his work first. This
enraged the soldier and killed Archimedes with his sword. Going by Plutarch,
Archimedes might have been killed while he was surrendering to the soldier.
Archimedes was carrying mathematical instruments which the soldier interpreted to
be precious gems.
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CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARCHIMEDES

1.THE ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE

One of the most famous contributions of Archimedes is the Archimedes’ principle.
It is said to have been found by him when he was tasked to determine the purity of
the gold crown of King Hiero II of Syracuse. The Archimedes’ principle states that
a body totally or partially immersed in a fluid is subject to an upward force (buoyant
force) that is equal in magnitude to the weight of fluid it displaces. Thus, the net
upward force on the object is the difference between the buoyant force and its
weight. If this net force is positive, the object rises; if negative, the object sinks; and
if zero, the object remains in place without either rising or sinking. Archimedes’
principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics and it has numerous
applications including the hydrometer, which uses it to determine the specific gravity
(relative density) of liquids; designing of ships and submarines; and in controlling
the flight of a hot-air balloon.
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2. THE LAW OF LEVER

A lever is a machine consisting of a rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum.
In his book On the Equilibrium of Planes, Archimedes proved the law of the lever
using geometric reasoning. It shows that if the distance a from the fulcrum to
where the input force is applied (point A) is greater than the distance b from
fulcrum to where the output force is applied (point B), then the lever amplifies the
input force. The reverse also holds true. Archimedes was also the first to introduce
the concept of “center of mass”. In On the Equilibrium of Planes, he showed that
the torque exerted on a lever by
weights resting at various points
along the lever is the same as what
it would be if all of the weights
were moved to a single point: their
center of mass.

3.INVENTION OF METHODS SIMILAR TO

CALCULUS
The method of exhaustion was a technique developed by ancient greeks of finding
the area of a shape by inscribing inside it a sequence of polygons whose areas
converge to the area of the containing shape. As one increases the number of sides
(n) of the polygon, the difference in area between the n-th polygon and the containing
shape will become arbitrarily small. archimedes made unprecedented use of the
method of exhaustion to prove his mathematical discoveries. he also made the first
known use of indivisibles. his method of indivisibles was similar to cavalieri’s
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principle which works on the basis that if in two solids of equal altitude, the sections
made by planes parallel to and at the same distance from their respective bases are
always equal, then the volumes of the two solids are equal. the method of exhaustion
and the method of indivisibles are regarded as forerunners to modern calculus.

4. EVALUATION OF PI (π)
Archimedes used the hellenistic method of mathematics. Pi is a greek symbol which
is used in various formulae, and archimedes was able to derive the value of pi using
his exceptional intellect.

5.DERIVATION OF A FORMULA FOR SURFACE

AREA AND VOLUME OF A SPHERE
In his work, On the Sphere and Cylinder, Archimedes inscribed a sphere in a cylinder
and used the method of indivisibles to become the first to derive a formula for the
surface area (4πr2) and enclosed volume (4/3πr3) of a sphere. He then proved the
results using the method of exhaustion. As the surface area of cylinder is 6πr2 and
its volume is 2πr3, Archimedes found that both the
volume and the surface area of the sphere were two-thirds
that of the cylinder of the same radius. Archimedes was
most proud of this mathematical proof. In fact, he was so
proud of this achievement that he requested a sculpted
sphere and cylinder to be placed on his tomb.
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6.ARCHIMEDES WAS THE FIRST TO USE THE

CONCEPT OF ACTUAL INFINITY

In his work The Quadrature of the Parabola, Archimedes

used the method of exhaustion to prove that the area of
a parabolic segment (the region enclosed by a parabola
and a line) is 4/3 that of a certain inscribed triangle. This
represents the most sophisticated use of the method of
exhaustion in ancient mathematics, and remained
unsurpassed until the development of integral calculus
in the 17th century. Other contributions of Archimedes
to mathematics include the first mathematical use of the
concept of actual infinity, considered one of his major
achievements; and his calculation of the value of the
square root of 3 as lying between 265/153 (approximately 1.7320261) and 1351/780
(approximately 1.7320512), a very accurate estimate for the time as the actual value
is approximately 1.7320508.

7. THE INVENTION OF ARCHIMEDES’ SCREW

Hiero II, King of Syracuse, commissioned Archimedes to design a huge ship. Known
as Syracusia and built around 240 BC, it is claimed to be the largest transport vessel
of antiquity. As the ship of such size would leak a considerable amount of water
through the hull, Archimedes purportedly designed a machine in order to remove the
bilge water. It became known as Archimedes’ screw and was most used to raise
water for irrigation from a low-lying body of water. The Archimedes screw consists
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of a helical screw inside a hollow tube. The

whole thing is turned on its axis either by
man or some other source of power. As it
turns the bottom end, which is submerged
in water, scoops up water inside the tube
and releases it at the top end. Though
archaeological evidence suggests that the
machine was built before Archimedes in ancient Assyria, he is still credited with its
invention. The Archimedes’ screw is still in use today for pumping liquids and
granulated solids such as coal and grain.

8.INVENTION OF THE CLAW OF ARCHIMEDES

Archimedes created a machine which is now famous as the Claw of Archimedes. It
consisted of a hook system to lift and topple ships which approached the walls of
the city. The Romans attacked Syracuse at night and the Claw machines sank many
of their ships. According to legend they were so effective that the Romans didn’t
know what hit them and wondered whether they were fighting against the Gods.
The plausibility of the Claw of Archimedes was tested in a 1999 BBC series and its
design was found to be workable.

9.INVENTION OF THE ODOMETER

Archimedes is said to have invented a way to
measure distance. This machine is called an
odometer. Archimedes' odometer operated on
the idea that every time a wheel goes around, it
travels its own circumference.
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10. ARCHIMEDES’ CATAPULTS

Archimedes discovered many weapons of war that could be used to protect Syracuse
from the Romans. One such invention was the catapult or “stone thrower.” The
catapult was a system of propelling heavy stones or objects at enemy ships to destroy
them. This kind of machine usually had a bucket in which the projectile was kept,
and the missile was fired from the catapult manually.

11. ARCHIMEDES'S INVENTION OF THE

COMPOUND PULLEY
Archimedes didn’t invent the pully of he did develop different system of
compound pully improving on existing technology at that time. He used a system
of compound pulleys to enable himself to move a three-masted merchant ship that
had been placed on dry land and then loaded down with passengers and freight.
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CONCLUSION
Archimedes was a person of great importance. As well as being a renowned
mathematician, inventor, scientist, and philosopher, he was also a true patriot.
Archimedes is an example of the Classical as well as the Hellenistic period of ancient
Greece. He died protecting his city Syracuse from the Romans using mathematical
calculations and experiments. He was dedicated to his work. He was too much
dedicated to his work that he refused to meet Roman general when he was working
on a math problem when a Roman soldier approached him and ordered him to come
meet with the Roman general. Archimedes' last words to the Roman soldier who
killed him were "Do not disturb my circles" referring to some drawings he had made
in the sand.The inventions of Archimedes have had an enormous impact on our daily
lives and made them much easier.

“Give me a place to stand, and I will move the world,” is a famous quote from
Archimedes which motivates people and encourages them to pursue their individual
talents. While the ancient Greeks were heavily involved in art and culture,
Archimedes was an example of a mathematician and philosopher who also gave the
world some of its greatest inventions.
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References and bibliography

The sources of information present in this project are:
• Internet websites:
www.google.com
www.youtube.com

• Links of pages that had been used:

https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/people/top-contributions-
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/archimedes-contribution
https://www.math.ucla.edu/~vsv/archimedes-wikipedia.pdf
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/archimedes-422.php

• Links of images:
https://www.cs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Pictures/Chocolate_ard/Cho
colate_card_600dpi.jpg
https://www.uoguelph.ca/geology/geol2250/glossary/HTML%20files/archi
medes.html
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Illustration-of-
the-law-of-the-lever.webp
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Archimedes-
proved-that-sphere-has-two-thirds-the-volume-and-area-of-the-
circumscribing-cylinder.webp
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Archimedes-
proved-that-the-area-of-the-parabolic-segment-in-the-upper-figure-is-equal-
to-four-thirds-that-of-the-inscribed-triangle-in-the-lower-figure.webp
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Illustration-of-
the-Archimedes-screw.webp
https://johnmanders.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/odometer.jpg
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