How did Islam contribute to mathematics
Islam contributed significantly to mathematics through its scholars who made remarkable contributions to the development of mathematical concepts, methods, and applications. Muslim mathematicians built upon the works of ancient Greek, Babylonian, and Indian mathematicians, and they also made significant contributions in their own right, including:
1. Adopting and transmitting the Hindu-Arabic numeral system from India to the Western world, which revolutionized numerical notation and arithmetic.
2. Developing algebra as a distinct mathematical discipline, including solving equations, the introduction of variables and unknowns, and the use of fractions.
3. Developing trigonometry, including the sine, cosine, and tangent functions that are widely used in mathematics and science.
4. Developing arithmetic and geometric series, which are used extensively in modern mathematics.
5. Making major contributions to geometry, including Euclidean geometry, which they expanded, and spherical geometry.
6. Contributing to the development of algorithms, including algorithms for finding square roots, which are still in use today.
Overall, Islamic scholars' contributions to mathematics significantly influenced the development of modern mathematics, and their contributions continue to be studied and used today.