Which culture is credited with algebra and Arabic numerals?

Which culture is credited with algebra and Arabic numerals?

• A. Islamic culture
• B. Greek culture
• C. Chinese culture
• D. Mayan culture

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is where algebra and the number system we use (often called Arabic numerals) were developed and spread. Algebra was formalized in the Islamic world during the Golden Age, with scholars in places like Baghdad building systematic methods for solving equations and naming the procedures; this work gave the discipline its name and laid out the techniques that grew into modern algebra. The numeral system known as Arabic numerals, though originating in India, spread to Europe and much of the world through Arab mathematicians and scholars, becoming the common writing system for numbers in much of the world. Because this culture was the center where both algebra was developed and the widely used numeral system was transmitted and popularized, it’s the best fit for this question. If you’re comparing others, Greek math laid the foundations of geometry and logic, Chinese math contributed important methods and inventions, and Maya math had its own sophisticated innovations, but the combined development and propagation of algebra and these numerals point to the Islamic world.

The idea being tested is where algebra and the number system we use (often called Arabic numerals) were developed and spread. Algebra was formalized in the Islamic world during the Golden Age, with scholars in places like Baghdad building systematic methods for solving equations and naming the procedures; this work gave the discipline its name and laid out the techniques that grew into modern algebra. The numeral system known as Arabic numerals, though originating in India, spread to Europe and much of the world through Arab mathematicians and scholars, becoming the common writing system for numbers in much of the world. Because this culture was the center where both algebra was developed and the widely used numeral system was transmitted and popularized, it’s the best fit for this question.

If you’re comparing others, Greek math laid the foundations of geometry and logic, Chinese math contributed important methods and inventions, and Maya math had its own sophisticated innovations, but the combined development and propagation of algebra and these numerals point to the Islamic world.