Mathematics

Mathematics is a discipline that involves the study of quantity, structure, space, and change. It has been a fundamental part of human civilization for thousands of years, and is used in a wide range of fields, including science, engineering, and economics.

History

The history of mathematics can be traced back to ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians, Greeks, and Indians. These civilizations made significant contributions to mathematics, including the development of geometry, algebra, and calculus.

Branches of Mathematics

Mathematics can be broadly divided into pure mathematics and applied mathematics.

Pure Mathematics

Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, but pure mathematicians are not primarily motivated by such applications. The major branches of pure mathematics include number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis.

Applied Mathematics

Applied mathematics involves the application of mathematical methods to other fields such as science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical science and specialized knowledge. The term "applied mathematics" also describes the professional specialty in which mathematicians work on practical problems by formulating and studying mathematical models.

Importance of Mathematics

Mathematics is essential in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, finance, and the social sciences. Applied mathematics has led to entirely new mathematical disciplines, such as statistics and game theory. Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics, or mathematics for its own sake, without having any application in mind, although practical applications for what began as pure mathematics are often discovered later.

See Also

• History of mathematics
• Mathematical notation
• Mathematical proof
• Mathematical logic
• Mathematical physics