Despite his accomplishments in all other spheres, Pascal was first of all a great mathematician. He helped to create two major new areas of research: projective geometry and probability theory, which has become important in such fields as actuarial, mathematical, and social statistics and as a fundamental element in the calculations of modern theoretical physics.
For many people, Pascal’s name is most recognized with its connection to Pascal's Triangle. Although he was not the first to study the Pascal triangle, his work was the most important on this topic. Pascal’s triangle has many mathematical associations, but Pascal discovered its connection to binomial coefficients. In Pascal’s triangle each number is the sum of the two numbers directly above it. Pascal's work on the binomial coefficients was to lead Newton to his discovery of the general binomial theorem for fractional and negative powers.
There are countless patterns you can uncover by looking at Pascal’s triangle. It is used in Grade 7 to reinforce student's ability to identify patterns.
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