Maths (mathematics) is the study of numbers, shapes and patterns. The word comes from the Greek word "μάθημα" (máthema), meaning "science, knowledge, or learning".
Maths is the world's most successful system of problem solving, and includes the study of:
Mathematicians seek and use patterns to formulate new conjectures; they resolve the truth or falsity of such by mathematical proof.
Mathematics is often shortened to "Maths" in the UK and "Math" in the US. They are both correct. It's a historical thing, then people started saying one version or the other, and "maths" took hold in the UK while "math" took hold in the US.
Some different mathematical subjects include; Maths, Applied Mathematics, Basic Maths, Elementary Maths, Finite Maths, Further Maths, Higher Mathematics, and Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science.
Children at primary school are expected to know their times tables and are taught Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2). Mostly they are not introduced to algebra. Children are taught about long division, fractions, decimals, averages, ratios, negative numbers, and long multiplication.
In secondary school, children move on to Key Stage 3 (KS3).
Most of the mathematical topics in GCSE Maths tests revolve around the basics taught to students at Key Stage 1, 2 and 3.
GCSE topics include - Number, Algebra, Ratio Proportion and Rates of Change, Geometry and Measure, Trigonometry, Probability, Statistics, and Problem Solving.
Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs.
As it stands, GCSE Maths is still one of the most important qualifications that can be achieved depending on the A-Levels applied for, and the degree programmes students wish to study later on.
Archimedes (the mathematician and the mechanic) is regarded as one of the most notable Greek mathematicians.
He was born in 287 BC into an astronomer family and died in 212 BC in the Siege of Syracuse.
Archimedes devoted his whole life to discovering mathematics and also science in his later life.
He is considered the father of mathematics for his significant contribution to the development of mathematics. His contributions are being used in great vigor, even in modern times.
The most famous mathematician is Pythagoras (circa 570-495 BC).
Pythagoras was a vegetarian mystical leader and number-obsessive, he owes his standing as the most famous name in maths due to a theorem about right-angled triangles, although it now appears it probably predated him. He lived in a community where numbers were venerated as much for their spiritual qualities as for their mathematical ones. His elevation of numbers as the essence of the world made him the towering primogenitor of Greek mathematics, essentially the beginning of mathematics as we know it now. And, famously, he didn't eat beans.
Other famous and influential mathematicians include - Sir Isaac Newton, David Hilbert, Rene Descartes, Hypatia, Ada Lovelace, and of course many many others!
Maths is useful for solving problems that occur in the real world, so many people besides mathematicians study and use mathematics. Today, maths is needed in many jobs. People working in business, science, engineering, and construction need some knowledge of maths.