The word 'algorithm' is derived from the name of which Arab (Persian) mathematician?

The word "algorithm" is derived from the name of the Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (about 780-850 CE).

About Al-Khwarizmi:

• He was a scholar from Khwarizm (Khwarezm, in present-day Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan).
• He worked at the "House of Wisdom" (Bayt al-Hikma) in Baghdad, during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun.
• He was a mathematician, astronomer and geographer.

His contributions:

• His book on arithmetic, "On Calculation with Hindu Numerals" (around 825 CE), explained the Indian decimal place-value system, including the use of zero.
• This book was translated into Latin in the 12th century as "Algoritmi de numero Indorum" ("Al-Khwarizmi on the Hindu Art of Reckoning").
• The Latin form of his name, "Algoritmi", gave rise to the word "algorithm", which means a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem.
• His book on algebra, "Al-Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi Hisab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala" ("The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing"), gave rise to the word "algebra" (from "al-jabr").
• He is sometimes called the "Father of Algebra".
• He also prepared astronomical tables based partly on Indian astronomy.

How Indian numerals reached Europe:

• Indian mathematicians developed the decimal place-value system with nine digits and zero.
• In the 8th century, Indian astronomical texts were brought to Baghdad and translated into Arabic.
• Arab scholars such as Al-Khwarizmi adopted and spread the Indian numerals.
• They reached Europe through Arab Spain and the translations of Al-Khwarizmi's works; they came to be called "Arabic numerals" in Europe, though they were originally Indian (often called "Hindu-Arabic numerals").
• The Italian mathematician Fibonacci helped popularise them in Europe through his book "Liber Abaci" (1202).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Omar Khayyam was a Persian mathematician and poet.
• ✗Al-Biruni was an 11th-century scholar from Central Asia.
• ✗Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was a physician and philosopher.