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           This week, I learned about Mersenne’s law, the Cartesian Coordinate System, the mechanical calculator, and Blaise Pascal. First, I learned about Mersenne’s law. Mersenne’s law is an equation that describes the number and speed of vibrations of the strings of instruments. It was invented by Marin Mersenne, who was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician, music theorist, and father of acoustics. This law explains the sound each string makes on stringed instruments. Second, I learned about the Cartesian Coordinate System, which is a system that shows each point in a plane by a pair of numbered coordinates. It was invented by Rene’ Descarte. His invention linked geometry and algebra together. Next, I learned about the mechanical calculator. It was invented by Blaise Pascal, who was a very important mathematician in France. He also invented Pascal’s Triangle, Pascal’s Theorem, and Pascal’s Law, which are all important parts of math. The mechanical calculator came after the abacus, which was the earliest calculator. It was a machine version of a calculator that could add and subtract. It did not become successful for 200 years after it was invented, but it led to the calculators we use today. The mechanical calculator was also my favorite invention I learned about this week. I liked it, because I love math, and I thought it was very interesting how it was made and how it worked.