Science & Tech.

The Society for Promotion of Science & Technology in India (SPSTI) is a not-for-profit NGO engaged in popularization and promotion of science and developing scientific temper in the society, children and youth in particular. It is a unique organization of its type in this part of India.

They are dedicated to spread of scientific temper among underprivileged students and to inspire and encourage the younger generation to discover their talents in various fields of science and technology and help them to excel in them.

I have been a part of the Society for Promotion of Science & Technology in India's summer school program. In which I have taught students from government schools in Haryana from June 5-25, 2023.

I taught the background behind a few of the most commonly used and fundamental theorems and formulae. I taught the history behind them and how they were created hundreds or thousands of years ago.

For instance, in one of the classes I taught how the circumference of the Earth was calculated using simple trigonometry thousands of years ago. Using examples and concepts the students were already familiar with, I explained the entire proof of the same.

In another class, I taught a few of the many proofs of the famous Pythagoras’ Theorem. Although each of the students knew the theorem by heart, none of the students knew why it is true. They only knew that the sum of the squares of the sides of a right-angled triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse but not why it is so.

I had also taught the background behind the value of the constant π, similar to the previous class, the students were well aware of its value as being 3.14 but none knew why it was so. By inviting students to perform an experiment, the students themselves using simple items such as a thread and a ruler were able to approximate the value of the ever-so-used constant.

The Calculation of the Earth's circumference

Nearly two-thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Eratosthenes was among the first to calculate the  circumference of the Earth with trigonometry and got an extremely close answer. Later, Indian mathematician Aryabhatta used a similar method and achieved an even closer answer.

Here I have explained the entire proof to students of Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Sector7 in Panchkula in Haryana.

Proof of Pythagoras' Theorem

A right triangle's three sides are related in Euclidean geometry by the Pythagorean theorem, also known as Pythagoras' theorem. According to this rule, the areas of the squares on the other two sides add up to the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse, or the side across from the right angle.

No other theorem perhaps has as many proofs as the Theorem of Pythagoras. Here I have explained two truths, one using geometry and the other using algebra. 

Every student had learned this formula by heart however none of them knew its derivation.

Here I have explained two proofs to students of Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Sector7 in Panchkula in Haryana.

The meaning of π and the formula for Circumference of a Circle

π is commonly defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The formula for the Circumference and the value of π is something which every child knew, but similar to the Pythagoras theorem, none of them knew π's meaning and how the formula for the circumference was derived.

I used a simple method to explain π. I used a thread of known length which I then put into the shape of a circle and measured the diameter of the circle hence formed.

Here I have explained both the definition of π and the formula of the circumference to students of Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Sector7 in Panchkula in Haryana.

The Program