Project 2 - Assigned 12/22/00 (Fri.) Due: 1/8/01 (Mon.) Name:

Prepare a report on the following mathematicians. Your report will include a brief biographical sketch of the persons life. Describe the persons circumstances of birth, how and what kind of education they obtained, how and why mathematics became important in their life, and the key events in their life that shaped them as a mathematician. Include at least one anecdote or story about the person that you find interesting. Discuss their most significant contributions to mankind. Finally, relate something that person did to the mathematics we have studied in Algebra 2.

Cite your references thoroughly in a list at the end of the report. For books, include title, author, published date, and publisher. For online sources, include the title of the site and full path to the pages being cited.

· Archimedes

· Galileo

· Descartes

· Newton

· Gauss

(length: ~ 2 pages single spaced plus one page of references or equivalent if handwritten)