2010 Top Ten of Conflict for Mathematics
- Triangle
- A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted
- Prime number
- A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways of writing it as a product, 1 × 5 or 5 × 1, involve 5 itself. However, 4 is composite because it is a product in which both numbers are smaller than 4. Primes are central in number theory because of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic: every natural number greater than 1 is
- Fibonacci number
- In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted Fn, form a sequence, the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. The sequence commonly starts from 0 and 1, although some authors omit the initial terms and start the sequence from 1 and 1 or from 1 and 2. Starting from 0 and 1, the next few values in the sequence are:0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144
- 0
- 0 (zero) is a number, and the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals. It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems. Names for the number 0 in English include zero, nought (UK), naught, nil, or—in contexts where at least one adjacent digit distinguishes it from the letter "O"—oh or o. Informal or slang terms for zero include zilch and
- Speed of light
- The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted c, is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. Its exact value is defined as 299792458 metres per second. According to the special theory of relativity, c is the upper limit for the speed at which conventional matter, energy or any signal carrying information can travel through space
- Randomness
- In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual random events are, by definition, unpredictable, but if the probability distribution is known, the frequency of different outcomes over repeated events is predictable. For example, when throwing two dice, the outcome of any particular roll is unpredictable, but a sum of 7
- 7
- 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube
- 42 (number)
- 42 (forty-two) is the natural number that follows 41 and precedes 43
- Golden ratio
- In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with
- Calculus
- Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations