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. Whom does the author claim the Greeks learned about astronomy from in Chapter 2, “Nothing Comes of Nothing”?
(a) The Romans.
(b) The Mayans.
(c) The Egyptians.
(d) The Babylonians.

2. Where does the author say early medieval Jews took up residence and discovered that Aristotle’s aversion to zero contradicted Jewish theology in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured”?
(a) Muslim Spain.
(b) South America.
(c) Ancient Egypt.
(d) Rome.

3. The author states in Chapter 3, “Nothing Ventured” that the Indians borrowed Greek geometry but never worried about what?
(a) The Pythagorean Theorem.
(b) The diagonal of the square.
(c) Recording or calculating area.
(d) Symbols for numerals.

4. Zero is the only number that when added to itself does what?
(a) Remains unchanged.
(b) Increases.
(c) Decreases.
(d) Turns into an imaginary number.

5. The Italian word “zefiro,” meaning “west wind” derived from what Latin and Greek word?
(a) Sifr.
(b) Zyloph.
(c) Zephyrus.
(d) Zebra.

Short Answer Questions

1. What refers to the mean obtained by taking the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals of a set of nonzero numbers?

2. What region in the Middle East is widely considered to be the cradle of civilization?

3. What 12 Century rabbi sought to reconcile Greek philosophy with the Semitic Bible?

4. When did Nicholas of Cusa live?

5. What god within Hinduism represents both creator and destroyer?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. How did Aristotle approach the concept of zero, according to the author in Chapter 2, “Nothing Comes of Nothing”?

5. How did zero enter into Babylonian mathematics, according to the author in Chapter 1, “Nothing Doing”?

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

7. What is the focus of the book, as established by the author in Chapter 0, “Null and Void”?

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

9. 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?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 853 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample