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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. What branch of mathematics are the ancient Egyptians credited with creating in order to successfully build objects to block the flooding of the Nile River each year?

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

3. What work by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations in Arabic?

4. The ancient Mayans used a numeral system that was based on what increment?

5. Where did the Renaissance begin?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What were Blaise Pascal’s theological beliefs? How was zero viewed in his beliefs?

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

4. What discoveries did Archimedes make in the mathematical world?

5. How did zero enter into Indian mathematics, according to the author in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured”?

6. What caused the USS Yorktown to have a computer meltdown in 1997, according to the author in Chapter 0, “Null and Void”? How is the ship described?

7. How does the author describe the ancient Greek and Roman mathematical systems in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the work and discoveries of René Descartes, and the development of the Cartesian coordinate system. How did the Cartesian coordinate system affect geometry and algebra? How did Descartes relate his mathematical discoveries to his philosophies and theological beliefs?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the concept of the “limit” proposed by Jean Le Ron D'Alembert and its impact on calculus and mathematics. What impact did the discoveries of Jean Le Ron D'Alembert have on the concepts of zero and infinity?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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