Lesson Title

The Discovery of Zero

Grade Level

Adaptable for grades 6-12

Designed by

Sierra Londenberg

Mathematical Practices

MP2 - Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

MP3 - Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
MP6 - Attend to precision.

Lesson Goals

The goal of this lesson is for students to learn about how we came to use the number zero the way we do
today. Students should gain an appreciation for our number system that involves the number zero compared
to number systems that don’t.

Learning Targets

● I can explain the difference in using zero as a placeholder and zero as a number.
● I can describe the benefits of using a number system with the number zero.
● I can explain the origin of the number zero in our modern number system.

Resources

● YouTube video, When Zero Was First Discovered ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-oxsEknlIc

● YouTube video, What is Zero? Getting Something from Nothing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y7gAzTMdMA

● YouTube video, The History of Zero - Discovering the Number 0 by Ancient India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQEuywkWa2U

● Brahmagupta​. (2014, July 07). Retrieved from Famous Scientists:

https://www.famousscientists.org/brahmagupta/

● Nieder, A. (2016). Representing Something Out of Nothing: The Dawning of Zero. ​Trends in Cognitive Sciences,
20,​ 830-842.

● Robertson, J. O. (2004, January). ​Chinese numerals​. Retrieved from MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive:
https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Chinese_numerals/

● Swetz, F. J. (1989). ​Numerals from Ancient China.​ Retrieved from Nationellt Centrum För
Matematikutbildning: ​http://ncm.gu.se/pdf/namnaren/4548_90_1.pdf
 ● Visos, B. G., & Mosquera, D. A. (2019, January 21). ​Thus was Born the Zero, the Number that Multiplied the
Power of Mathematics.​ Retrieved from OpenMind:
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/mathematics/thus-was-born-the-zero-the-number-that-multipli
ed-the-power-of-mathematics/

Materials Provided

● The Discovery of Zero Outline

● Chinese Rod Numeral Worksheet
● The History of Zero Assignment

Access for All

● EL​ - Allow students to work in groups or work as a class through the Chinese Rod numerals
worksheet so they can rely on one another. Allow students to watch the YouTube videos during class
with captions. Students should have the opportunity to watch the videos on their own device for
auto-generated captions in the language of their choice.

● Special Needs ​- Students should work in groups or as a class through the Chinese Rod numerals
worksheet to gain help and insight from their fellow classmates. Play the YouTube videos with
captions on to help students who may have difficulty hearing and following along with the video. Allow
students to work at their own pace when answering the writing prompts for the YouTube videos.

● Low Performance​ - Students should work in groups or as a class through the Chinese Rod
numerals worksheet to gain help and insight from their fellow classmates. Play the YouTube videos
with captions on to help students who may have difficulty hearing and following along with the video.
Allow students to work at their own pace digesting the information and making connections with the
material. Give class time for students to formulate their thoughts and ideas on the subject.

● Advanced​ - Encourage students to continue to research topics they found interesting during this
lesson. Research and have students try more difficult mathematics with the Chinese Rod numerals or
have students research another numeral system that doesn’t involve the number zero. Have students
dive deeper in the cultural aspects of India during this time period or the West during this time period
and encourage questions on why this discovery of zero was so huge in a cultural aspect as well as a
mathematical aspect.

Relevance

This lesson is relevant to students because it highlights a key concept in all levels of mathematics that we
usually take for granted. From early childhood, we are taught that zero means there is nothing there and
then as we grow and learn we start to use zero as a number instead of a placeholder. Without the inclusion
of zero in our modern math, the math would be inaccessible to most people as it was many years ago.