Eastern Hemisphere History And Geography Practice Test

Zero as a number and the decimal idea are being tested here as they developed in Indian mathematics during the Gupta era. Brahmagupta is the one who first treats zero as a number with its own arithmetic, laying out rules such as adding or subtracting zero leaves a number unchanged and multiplying by zero yields zero. His work also gestures toward a place-value, decimal approach by treating numbers in a way that uses a clear role for zero in the system. This combination—defining zero as a number and embedding it in a decimal framework—defines why he is the best answer. Other well-known Indian mathematicians of the period, like Aryabhata, Bhaskara I, and Varāhamihira, made major contributions to mathematics and astronomy but did not formalize zero as a number to the same extent.