Portal:Mathematics

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This portal is for the academic discipline of mathematics. For related portals of logic and statistics, please see portals: mathematics, logic, and statistics.

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Mathematics, from the Greek: μαθηματικά or mathēmatiká, is the study of quantities (numbers) and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions; and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations. It evolved through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the systematic study of positions, shapes and motions of physical objects. Mathematicians explore such concepts, aiming to formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.

There are approximately 20733 mathematical articles in Wikipedia.

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$\mathbb{N} \sub \mathbb{Z} \sub \mathbb{Q} \sub \mathbb{R} \sub \mathbb{C}.$

The natural numbers are part of the integers, which are part of the rationals, which are part of the reals, which are part of the complex numbers.

A number is an abstract entity that represents a count or measurement. A symbol for a number is called a numeral. The arithmetical operations of numbers, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, are generalized in the branch of mathematics called abstract algebra, the study of abstract number systems such as groups, rings and fields.

Numbers can be classified into sets called number systems. The most familiar numbers are the natural numbers, which to some mean the non-negative integers and to others mean the positive integers. In everyday parlance the non-negative integers are commonly referred to as whole numbers, the positive integers as counting numbers, symbolised by $\mathbb{N}.$ .

The integers consist of the natural numbers (positive whole numbers and zero) combined with the negative whole numbers, which are symbolised by $\mathbb{Z}$ (from the German Zahl, meaning "number").

A rational number is a number that can be expressed as a fraction with an integer numerator and a non-zero natural number denominator. Fractions can be positive, negative, or zero. The set of all fractions includes the integers, since every integer can be written as a fraction with denominator 1. The symbol for the rational numbers is a bold face $\mathbb{Q}$ (for quotient).

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In his historic work Elements, Euclid assumed the existence of parallel lines with his fifth postulate. The fifth postulate or parallel postulate is equivalent to:

Given a line and a point not on that line, exactly one line can be drawn through that point which does not intersect the original line (see 1).

In the 19th century mathematicians began to seriously question the parallel postulate and found that other forms of geometry are possible. For example elliptical geometry:

Given a line and a point not on that line, all lines drawn through that point will intersect the original line (see 2).

And hyperbolic geometry:

Given a line and a point not on that line, an infinite number of lines can be drawn through the point that do not intersect the original line (see 3).

These other forms of geometry, where the parallel postulate does not hold are called Non-Euclidean geometry.

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More mathematics categories

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...that there are different sizes of infinite sets in set theory? More precisely, not all infinite cardinal numbers are equal?
...that every natural number can be written as the sum of four squares?
...that the largest known prime number is over 12 million digits long?
...that the set of rational numbers is equal in size to the subset of integers; that is, they can be put in one-to-one correspondence?
...that there are precisely six convex regular polytopes in four dimensions? These are analogs of the five Platonic solids known to the ancient Greeks.
...that it is unknown whether π and e are algebraically independent?
...that a nonconvex polygon with three convex vertices is called a pseudotriangle?
...that it is possible for a three dimensional figure to have a finite volume but infinite surface area? An example of this is Gabriel's Horn.
... that as the dimension of a hypersphere tends to infinity, its "volume" (content) tends to 0?

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