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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. In 1996 and 1997, the USS Yorktown was equipped with a network of how many dual 200 MHz Pentium Pro-based computers running Windows NT 4.0?

2. What in graphical perspective refers to a point in the picture plane π that is determined by a line in space?

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

4. Zeno of Elea followed what Eleatic school founder in believing that the nature of the universe was changeless and immobile?

5. Where did Copernicus live?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. What results came about when Indian mathematicians began separating numbers from shapes, according to the author in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured”?

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

9. What inventions is Blaise Pascal credited with, according to the author in Chapter 4, “The Infinite God of Nothing”?

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

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the biography and the mathematical and philosophical contributions of Archimedes of Syracuse. How did Archimedes first encounter the infinite? How did this discovery influence his work and the work of mathematicians after him?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the USS Yorktown and its computer crash in 1997 as examined in Chapter 0, “Null and Void.” What program was the ship a test-bed for in the U.S. Navy? What caused the crash? How was the problem approached?

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