biology

Webster Wells

Webster Wells is a biology 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 Webster Wells rather than just read about it. In short: Webster Wells (1851–1916) was an American mathematician known primarily for his authorship of mathematical textbooks. Early life and career Wells was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) on September 4, 1851.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Webster Wells (1851–1916) was an American mathematician known primarily for his authorship of mathematical textbooks.

Early life and career Wells was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) on September 4, 1851. His parents, Thomas Foster Wells (1822–1903) and Sarah Morrill Wells (1828–1897), initially named him Thomas Wells, but presumably after the death of the statesman Daniel Webster in 1852, renamed him Daniel Webster Wells, and from at least 1860, he was known as Webster Wells. Samuel Adams, the Boston brewer and patriot, was a great-great-grandfather, and the poets Thomas Wells (1790–1861) and Anna Maria (Foster) Wells (1795–1868) were grandparents. The architect Joseph Morrill Wells was his brother. Beginning in 1863, Wells studied at the West Newton English and Classical School (aka the Allen School) in West Newton, Massachusetts, and then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1873 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Wells taught mathematics at MIT, where he was successively instructor (1873–1880), assistant professor (1883), associate professor (1885), and full professor (1893–1911).

Personal life Webster Wells married Emily Walker Langdon in Boston on June 21, 1876. In Europe at the outbreak of World War I, Wells and his wife returned to Brookline on the refugee ship Principe di Undine. Wells died in Arlington, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1916, from complications of Huntington's Chorea. He was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford, Massachusetts.

Textbooks Wells' textbooks were used in many schools and colleges in the United States. Among the many titles were:

Webster Wells. Elementary Treatise on Logarithms (Boston, MA: Robert S. Davies Co., 1878). Webster Wells. University Algebra (Boston MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1880), one of "Greenleaf's Mathematical Series." Webster Wells. Practical Textbook on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1883). Webster Wells. A Complete Course in Algebra for Academies and High Schools (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1885). Webster Wells. The Elements of Geometry (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1886). Webster Wells. Plane and Solid Geometry (1887). Webster Wells. The Essentials of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1887). Webster Wells. Plane Trigonometry (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1887). Webster Wells. Four-place Logarithmic Tables (1888). Webster Wells. A Short Course in Higher Algebra (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1889), one of "Wells' Mathematical Series." Webster Wells. College Algebra (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1890). Webster Wells. An Academic Arithmetic for Academies, High and Commercial Schools (1893, 1899). Webster Wells. Plane Trigonometry (Boston, MA: Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, 1893), one of "Wells' Mathematical Series." Webster Wells. Revised Plane and Solid Geometry (1894). Webster Wells. New Plane and Spherical Trigonometry (1896). Webster Wells. Essentials of Algebra for Secondary Schools (Norwood MA: Norwood Press, 1897). Webster Wells. New Higher Algebra (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1897, 1899). Webster Wells. The Essentials of Geometry (Solid) (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1899). Webster Wells. Complete Trigonometry (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1901, copyright 1900). Webster Wells. Factoring (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1902), one of “Heath’s Mathematical Monographs.” Claribel Gerrish and Webster Wells. The Beginner's Algebra (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1902). Webster Wells. Advanced Course in Algebra (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1904). Webster Wells. Algebra for Secondary Schools (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1906, 1909). Webster Wells. New Plane Geometry (1908). Webster Wells. New Plane and Solid Geometry (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1909). Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. First Year Algebra (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co. 1912). Webster Wells. New High School Algebra (1912). Webster Wells. Second Course in Algebra (1913). Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. Plane Geometry (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1915), one of "Wells and Hart's Mathematics Series." Webster Wells. Plane and Solid Geometry (1916).

Posthumous editions Webster Wells. Modern Algebra: Second Course (1920). Webster Wells. Modern First Year Algebra (1923). Webster Wells. Modern Algebra: Second Course (1925). Webster Wells and Walter W. Hart. Modern First Year Algebra, Revised (Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., copyright 1928).

See also Joseph Morrill Wells, architect; Webster Wells’ brother Anna Maria Wells, poet; Webster Wells’ grandmother Frederick A. Wells, politician, Webster Wells' second cousin John Witt Randall, art collector; Webster Wells’ first cousin once removed

References

Bibliography Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Wells, Webster" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. Webster Wells (2005) [1909]. "New plane geometry". University of Michigan Library. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

External links Works by or about Webster Wells at the Internet Archive

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Webster Wells

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Webster Wells claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Webster Wells 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 Webster Wells 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 Webster Wells

In research: Webster Wells appears in biology 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 Webster Wells 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: Webster Wells is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1851 births, 1916 deaths, American mathematics educators, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Webster Wells 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.

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How to study Webster Wells in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Webster Wells 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 Webster Wells out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Webster Wells in simple terms?

Webster Wells (1851–1916) was an American mathematician known primarily for his authorship of mathematical textbooks. Early life and career Wells was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) on September 4, 1851.

Why does Webster Wells matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Webster Wells?

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 Webster Wells.