The Western Arabic numerals are mostly used in a. Arabic b. Indian languages c. European languages
The Italian mathematician Fibonacci learned the Western Arabic number system in a. Bugia b. India c. Spain
The numbers that most Arabic-speaking countries use today are closer to a. Roman numerals b. Indian numerals c. Chinese numerals
Discussion/essay questions
Does your first language use Western Arabic numerals, or does it use a different system?
Do you prefer numbers and math or words and languages? Why?
Transcript
Numerals are the set of symbols a language uses to represent numbers. European languages like English count with a set of numerals called Western Arabic numerals. These are different from the numerals actually used in Arabic. Europe became familiar with the Western Arabic number system in the 12th century. The Italian mathematician Fibonacci learned the system from merchants in Bugia, or modern-day Algeria. These numbers spread because they made complex calculations easier. Before, Europeans were using Roman numerals, which were tedious. The Arabic system was useful because it used place value to show large numbers. That meant it only needed ten symbols. The mathematicians in North Africa who developed the symbols learned the system from Indian mathematicians and astronomers, who first invented a digit to represent the number zero. The numerals that most Arabic-speaking countries use today are much more similar to the Indian numerals.
Turing was a a. mathematician b. physicist c. military leader
The purpose of the Turing test is a. to determine how fast a machine can work b. to determine how well a machine can follow instructions c. to determine if a machine can think like a human
During World War II, Turing helped the Allies by a. inventing new technology for weapons b. creating a machine that could break Nazi codes c. analyzing Nazi military plans
Discussion/essay questions
Alan Turing’s accomplishments were disregarded for many years. Do you know any other important historical figures who were dismissed in their time?
Do you think it is possible for a machine to think like a human?
Transcript
Alan Turing was a British mathematician. He was born in 1912 in London, England. His ideas are considered to be the early foundations for modern computers. In 1936, he described a hypothetical device that could read and follow written instructions. He also developed the Turing test, which was meant to determine if a machine could think like a human. During World War II, Turing built a machine that helped the Allied forces decode Nazi messages. His work helped Britain and the Allies win the war. However, the government later arrested and shunned him for being gay, which was illegal at the time. Turing died in 1954, two years after his conviction. The Queen officially pardoned him in 2013.
