Erin Shockley

                                                                                                                                                            April 20, 2004

 

 

Blaise Pascal

Web Dropin #1

 

Introduction:

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician in the 17th century and is one of the most famous and influential mathematicians of all time.  He did a great deal of work in probability and laid the foundation for the binomial theorem, a very important part of higher-level mathematics.  To enhance your understanding of mathematics, it is essential that you understand its history and development.

 

Information:

One of Blaise Pascal’s most famous contributions is Pascal’s Triangle:

 

                                                1

                                              1  1

                                            1  2  1

                                          1  3  3  1

                                        1  4  6  4  1

                                                …

 

Activity:

Read a short biography of Blaise Pascal, and answer the following questions.

 

1.  Why do you think Pascal’s father would not let him study math until he was fifteen?

 

2.  Did Pascal invent Pascal’s Triangle?

 

3.  Study the triangle above.  Can you find a pattern used to generate each successive row?  Make an educated guess about what the next row in the triangle would be.