Special Sub-Topic: Mathematics In Movies Click Here To Play: Mathematics In Movies

In 'Infinity' what type of math did Richard Feyman (Matthew Broderick) use to compute the cube root of 1729.03?

Calculus. During the dual with the abacist, Feyman computed the cube root of 1729.03 using calculus to get the answer of 12.00238426.

In 'Stand and Deliver', which East Los Angeles High School did teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) prepare his students to take the AP Calculus exam?

Garfield High School. Escalante motivated and taught his students to overcome great odds to be able to pass the AP Calculus exam.

In 'Rushmore', Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman) solves what his teacher calls ‘just about the hardest ________ problem in the world.’ What type of math problem was it?

Geometry. The geometry problem was to find the area enclosed by an ellipse. Fisher solved the problem right on the mark.

In 'Little Big League', Billy Haywood (Luke Edwards) needed help to solve a rate problem for his algebra homework. The question was, 'Bill can paint a house in five hours and Mary can paint a house in three hours. How many hours did it take both to paint the house?' What was the answer?

1 7/8 hours. To solve the problem, a common basis was needed to compare the painters. It was known that Bill paints a house in five hours and Mary paints a house in three hours. This means that Bill paints 1/5 house in one hour, Mary paints 1/3 house in one hour, and together they paint 1/5 + 1/3 house in one hour. The formula goes (1/5 + 1/3) n =1; 3+5 / 3x3 n = 1; n = 15/8 = 1 7/8 hours.

In 'Bedazzled' starring Brendan Fraser (Elliot Richards) and Elizabeth Hurley (The Devil), there was a scene where The Devil was the teacher for a group of boys. When she put an assignment on the blackboard, there was a very unique math problem. The question was Xn + Yn = Zn for n greater than 2. Is this a math problem that can produce a proof?

Yes. Fermat’s Last Theorem was discovered by Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665). For three centuries, mathematicians attempted to solve the problem but could not carry out the whole proof. It wasn’t until 1994 when Princeton mathematician Andrew Wiles, after a seven-year effort, produced a proof that shocked the mathematical world. He relied on modern theory of elliptic curves and other subjects to carry out the proof.

In the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’, Dorothy, The Lion, The Tin Man and The Scarecrow wanted a gift from the great Wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow wanted a brain. When he finally got one, he pronounced, 'The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side.' What was The Scarecrow referring to?

The Pythagorean Theorem. The Pythagorean Theorem is: the sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse, ‘a square + b square = c square’.

Which movie is about a mathematician who made significant contributions to the game theory in the 1950’s, which became the basis for much of modern economics?

A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of John Nash.

Which movie was based on a young man who had a troubled life but had a hidden yet incredible talent for mathematics?

Good Will Hunting. ‘Good Will Hunting’ also starred Robin Williams, Ben Affleck and Minnie Driver.

In which independent film does Maximillian Cohen (Sean Gullette) become an obsessed mathematician searching for patterns within the infinite decimal places of pi?

pi. Cohen believed the patterns could be used to predict chaotic behaviors including that of the stock market.

In ‘Cast Away’, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island. There was a scene where Noland is computing the search area where rescuers must search. He made a circle where the center was the point of last radio contact. He assumed the cargo jet was traveling at 400 mph, we saw him make the calculation of 160,000 mi = (400) square x 3.14. What was the calculation?

502,400 square miles. Noland mentioned the area is ‘twice the size of Texas’.