mathematics

Joaquim Gomes de Souza

Joaquim Gomes de Souza is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Joaquim Gomes de Souza rather than just read about it. In short: Joaquim Gomes de Souza "Souzinha" (15 February 1829, in Itapecuru Mirim – 1 June 1864, in London) was a Brazilian mathematician who worked on numerical analysis and differential equations. He was a pioneer on the study of mathematics in Brazil, and was described by José Leite Lopes as "the first great mathematician from Brazil".

Key takeaways

Joaquim Gomes de Souza belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Joaquim Gomes de Souza to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Joaquim Gomes de Souza from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Joaquim Gomes de Souza "Souzinha" (15 February 1829, in Itapecuru Mirim – 1 June 1864, in London) was a Brazilian mathematician who worked on numerical analysis and differential equations. He was a pioneer on the study of mathematics in Brazil, and was described by José Leite Lopes as "the first great mathematician from Brazil". In 1844, Gomes de Souza enrolled at the Faculdade de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro (now a part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) to study medicine. He had a deep love for the natural sciences, which led him to also be interested in mathematics, and so he started to learn mathematics as a self-taught in parallel with his studies of medicine. In 1848, he obtained his doctorate in mathematics from the Escola Real Militar, with the thesis Dissertação Sobre o Modo de Indagar novos Astros sem o Auxílio das Observações Directas (Dissertation about the means of investigating new celestial objects without the aid of direct observations). He later went to the Sorbonne, in France, where he continued his mathematical studies. He was a personal friend of Cauchy, of whose classes he attended (in one of them, Souza spotted a mathematical mistake by Cauchy, he then asked his license and corrected it on the blackboard). In 1856, he obtained a doctorate in medicine from Paris Faculty of Medicine. In the same year, he presented his mathematical works at the Académie des sciences. Souza held a paid public post in Brazil, and after much time in Europe, he was noticed he should return immediately to Brazil because he had been elected a member of the parliament. Souza had already married Rosa Edith in England and then had to return to Brazil without her. In his book Mélanges de calcul intégral (1882), Souza aimed to obtain a general method to solve PDEs, according to Manfredo do Carmo: "[in his book] He [Souza] employed methods not entirely rigorous and it is not clear exactly how much of his work would remain if submitted to a careful scrutiny; as far as I know, it was never put to such a test." He died at the age of 35, in London. The cause of death was a disease of the lung. C. S. Fernandez and C. M. Souza described his endeavorer in Europe: "He was audacious and fought with insistence for his scientific recognition in Europe. His effort was fruitless, though."

Writings Resoluções das Equações Numéricas (1850, in Portuguese) Recuel de Memoires d’Analise Mathematiques (1857, in French) Anthologie universelle (1859, in French) Mélanges de calcul intégral (1882, posthumous, in French)

Further reading Irine Coelho de Araujo, Joaquim Gomes de Souza (1829-1864): A construção de uma imagem de Souzinha, São Paulo, 2012 Carlos Ociran Silva Nascimento, Alguns aspectos da obra matematica de Joaquim Gomes de Souza, Campinas, 2008

References

External links "Joaquim Gomes de Souza" at MacTutor

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Joaquim Gomes de Souza

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Joaquim Gomes de Souza claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Joaquim Gomes de Souza before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Joaquim Gomes de Souza ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Joaquim Gomes de Souza

In research: Joaquim Gomes de Souza appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Joaquim Gomes de Souza in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Joaquim Gomes de Souza is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1829 births, 1864 deaths, Brazilian mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Joaquim Gomes de Souza outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Joaquim Gomes de Souza” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Joaquim Gomes de Souza in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Joaquim Gomes de Souza means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Joaquim Gomes de Souza out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Joaquim Gomes de Souza in simple terms?

Why does Joaquim Gomes de Souza matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Joaquim Gomes de Souza?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Joaquim Gomes de Souza.