View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Pythagoreanism developed into two separate schools of thought. What group was called “the listeners” in Greek?
(a) The omnimatioi.
(b) The mathēmatikoi.
(c) The Hippasusikoi.
(d) The akousmatikoi.

2. What in graphical perspective refers to a point in the picture plane π that is determined by a line in space?
(a) A black hole.
(b) A hyperbole.
(c) A vector.
(d) A vanishing point.

3. Aristotle referred to Zeno of Elea as the inventor of what?
(a) The Zeno theorem.
(b) Geometry.
(c) Algebra.
(d) The dialectic.

4. When did Nicholas of Cusa live?
(a) 1501-1559.
(b) 1305-1339.
(c) 1401-1464.
(d) 1623-1698.

5. The author states in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured” that India adopted a Babylonian style number system around what century?
(a) 6th Century.
(b) 1st Century.
(c) 5th Century.
(d) 2nd Century.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author states in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured” that Indian mathematicians first learned of zero from the Babylonians by way of what?

2. The preclassic Maya and their neighbors supposedly developed the concept of zero by what year?

3. The ancient Babylonians are credited with the creation of what calculation tool?

4. The Gregorian calendar replaced what calendar system in 1582?

5. The reason for the reform of the Gregorian calendar was to solidify what Christian holiday to a particular time of year?

Short Essay Questions

1. What advancements in mathematics were made by René Descartes?

2. What mathematical developments was Pythagoras credited with in ancient Greece?

3. How was zero dealt with in the Pythagorean view, according to the author in Chapter 2, “Nothing Comes of Nothing”?

4. What Italian mathematician was responsible for the introduction of zero to Christianity and the Western world, according to the author in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured”?

5. How are multiplication and division involving zero described in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

6. How did Filippo Brunelleschi introduce the concept of zero to the Italian Renaissance?

7. How did mathematics and the concept of zero evolve in India through the 5th Century AD?

8. How does the author describe the relationship between early Christianity and zero in Chapter 2, “Nothing Comes of Nothing”?

9. How does the author describe the early counting systems of prehistoric mathematics in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

10. How are ancient Babylonian mathematics described in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 792 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample