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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. Johannes Kepler used calculus to determine that planets had what, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

2. Bosonic string theory was developed in what decade?

3. What principle holds that there is an inverse relation between the fineness with which a particular's location can be determined and the fineness with which its velocity can be determined?

4. What term refers to a physical constant that is the quantum of action in quantum mechanics?

5. In particle physics, what refers to a proposed symmetry of nature relating two basic classes of elementary particles: bosons and fermions?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are electrons described in Chapter 8, “Zero Hour at Ground Zero”?

2. What problem does zero present when calculating tangent lines? What is a tangent?

3. How were Georg Cantor’s mathematical principles applied to his theology? Who disagreed with his vision and why?

4. How did l’Hopital address the problem of zero, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

5. How did the field of quantum mechanics address the problem of zero in thermodynamics?

6. Who was Carl Gauss? What discovery did he make regarding imaginary numbers?

7. What problems were encountered in calculus with zero? How did zero apply to the physical world, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

8. How did the discovery of imaginary numbers affect the study of algebra?

9. Who created calculus? How did calculus differ from the other mathematical fields, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

10. What are differential equations? Who first developed differential equations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the origins and developments of mathematics in Mayan culture. What was the base of the Mayan numeral system? How did this system compare with that of the Egyptians and the Babylonians? How did it deal with zero?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the development of mathematics within Jewish culture and society, as well as the Jewish relationship with the Aristotelian world view and the work of Maimonides. Why did the Aristotelian viewpoint contradict Jewish belief? How did Maimonides approach this problem?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the biography and the philosophical, artistic, and mathematical contributions of Aristotle. How influential were Aristotle’s ideas in the formation of Western culture? How does the concept of zero impact Aristotle’s view?

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