The Science Quiz | The great women of mathematics

Questions:

1. The X is a bell-shaped curve generated from a circle and two diametrically opposite points on it to study problems in probability. The curve was first described by Italian mathematician Maria Agnesi in 1748. Name X.

2. The Y theorem, established in 1918, states that for every continuous symmetry in a system, there is an associated quantity that is conserved. This is why, for example, the conservation of momentum is a direct consequence of the outcome of any physical process being the same no matter where in space it happens. Name the mathematician who discovered Y.

3. Name the mathematician who used the principles of geometry and Kepler’s laws to calculate the trajectories of several NASA missions, including Apollo 11. She later became the first woman in the Flight Research Division despite racial and gender discrimination and inspired the 2016 film Hidden Figures.

4. In the early 19th century, French number theorist Sophie Germain laid the foundation for proving certain cases of the Z theorem, which states that if aⁿ + bⁿ = cⁿ, where a, b, and c are whole numbers, then n can’t be greater than 2. Name Z.

5. In 1858, this nurse and her team treated soldiers injured during the Crimean War. Using statistics, she studied the mortality dynamics in the hospital and discovered unsanitary conditions were the leading cause of death. Name her.

Visual:

Name this Iranian mathematician who won the 2014 Fields Medal for insights into the structure and dynamics of Riemannian surfaces and their relation to number theory.

Answers:

1. Maria Gaetana Agnesi

2. Emmy Noether

3. Katherine Johnson

4. Fermat’s last theorem

5. Florence Nightingale

Visual: Maryam Mirzakhani