Did Ahmes find the best expansions for 2/n?

4 days ago

The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (RMP) by Ahmes includes a table for expressing fractions 2/n as sums of unit fractions.
One example, 2/95, is given as 1/60 + 1/380 + 1/570, which could be simplified to 1/60 + 1/228.
The choice of expansions might be influenced by practical considerations like ease of multiplication (doubling) or decupling, especially with even denominators.
Ahmes' criteria for selecting these expansions are not explained, making it difficult to determine if he always used the 'best' possible expansions.

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