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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Approximately when did Aristotle live?

2. When did Nicholas of Cusa live?

3. What does the author refer to as “zero’s twin” in the book?

4. What name refers to sutra texts belonging to the Śrauta ritual and containing geometry related to fire-altar construction?

5. René Descartes was a French philosopher and mathematician who spent most of his adult life where?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What mathematical advancements were made by the ancient Egyptians?

3. Where does the author claim zero was “born” in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”? How was zero involved in early mathematics?

4. What reason does the author give for why the Greeks and Romans resisted using zero in their mathematical systems in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

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

6. What paradox of Zeno of Elea’s is presented by the author in Chapter 2, “Nothing Comes of Nothing”?

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

8. How does the author assert zero’s existence has been responsible for mathematical progress in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

9. What mathematical properties of zero presented problems in the ancient world, according to the author in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the origins and development of mathematics in Indian society. From whom did India adopt the concept of zero? How did the beliefs of Hinduism deal with the concept of zero? Why and how was this different than Christianity’s viewpoint of the void?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the origins and history of mathematics within Islamic culture. When was the House of Wisdom built? Who first coined the term “algebra”? When was the term coined?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the life and work of Zeno of Elea. What philosophical and mathematical discoveries did Zeno make? What is the definition of paradox? What paradox of Zeno’s is discussed in the book?

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