It is now becoming more common to call the Rhind papyrus after Ahmes rather than Rhind since it seems much fairer to name it after the scribe than after the man who purchased it comparatively recently. The same is not possible for the Moscow papyrus however, since sadly the scribe who wrote this document has not recorded his name. It is often called the Golenischev papyrus after the man who purchased it. The Moscow papyrus is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, while the Rhind papyrus is in the British Museum in London. The problems are mostly practical but a few are posed to teach manipulation of the number system itself without a practical application in mind.
Some problems ask for the solution of an equation.
Some problems involve geometry. The Moscow papyrus also contains geometrical problems. Unlike the Greeks who thought abstractly about mathematical ideas, the Egyptians were only concerned with practical arithmetic. Most historians believe that the Egyptians did not think of numbers as abstract quantities but always thought of a specific collection of 8 objects when 8 was mentioned. To overcome the deficiencies of their system of numerals the Egyptians devised cunning ways round the fact that their numbers were poorly suited for multiplication as is shown in the Rhind papyrus.