Order the Greek Alphabet, part 1 Quiz

Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph, meaning "ox". It's name, combined with the name of the second Greek letter - beta - gives us the term "alphabet", a standard set of symbols (letters) written to represent certain sounds in a spoken language.

The terms "pre-alpha testing" and "alpha testing" are used in computer programming to represent early stages of testing new software.

Alpha is used to represent many concepts in physics and chemistry. Of note is the alpha particle, which consists of two neutrons and two protons - essentially a helium atom without electrons. These are the source for terrestrial helium, as they can gain electrons and become stable helium atoms.

Alpha is often used to indicate the first of something, or the beginning of a series of events. This is mirrored by the use of omega, the last Greek letter, as indicating the end of a series of events.

Beta, the second letter of the Greek alphabet, was derived from Phoenician word "bayt", meaning "house". Combined with the first letter, alpha, gives us the compound word "alphabet".

In software development, it designates the testing stage after alpha testing. In this phase, the software is tested by a larger group of users, usually outside of the organization that developed it.

Greek letters are often used as variables in trigonometry, representing unknown angles. Beta is often paired up with alpha for trigonometric identities involving two angles, such as the sum identity for cosine:

cos(α ± β)=cos⁡α∙cosβ ∓ sin⁡α∙sinβ

Beta particles are high-speed electrons or positrons emitted during radioactive decay.

Gamma, the third letter of the Greek alphabet, is the predecessor of the Roman "C" and "G".

In trigonometry, gamma is grouped with alpha and beta to represent the three internal angles of a triangle. This gives rise to the Triangle Sum Theorem: α + β + γ = 180°.

In physics, gamma particles/radiation are high-energy photons which have relatively strong penetration of matter, more so than alpha- or beta- particles/radiation.

In the Marvel Universe, the Hulk was created by a combination of exposure to gamma radiation and extreme stress or anger. This transformed Dr. Banner into the Hulk.

Delta, the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, comes from the Phoenician letter dalet.

The capital letter delta ("Δ") is used to described physical objects that are triangular in shape; for example, a river delta, the deltoid muscle in the human shoulder, and delta-wing aircraft.

In mathematics, it's used as a prefix symbol of a variable, indicating a difference or change in the given variable. For example, the slope formula in algebra can be written m = Δy/Δx, which is short for m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1).

Epsilon, the fifth letter in the Greek alphabet, is derived from the Phoenician letter He.

In astronomy, epsilon is used to designate the fifth-brightest star within a given constellation, e.g., Epsilon Eridani.

In mathematics, epsilon represents a small, positive value, usually approaching zero.

Zeta, the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, was derived from the Phoenician letter zayin. The Roman letter "Z" arose from zeta. Zeta is also the ancestor of the pronounciation of "Z" as "zed" in English Commonwealth countries, while other English-speaking countries say "zee".

In mathematics, zeta is used to represent the Riemann zeta function. It also represents the lag angle in helicopter blade dynamics, continuing the use of Greek letters to represent angles and angular-related variable factors.

Eta, the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, was derived from the Phoenician letter heth. It gave rise to the Roman "H".

The lowercase eta is used as a symbol in numerous mathematical and scientific areas. In particle physics, it represents eta-mesons. In mathematics, it's used for eta-reduction in lambda calculus. In astronomy, it's usually the seventh-brightest star in a constellation.

Theta, the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, was derived from the Phoenician letter teth, which was a circle with an "X" drawn in it. It has no single-letter Roman (Latin) equivalent; it pronounciation is equivalent to "th", as in "this" or "that".

Theta is often used as a variable that represents a plane angle, much like "x" is used as a general variable in algebra. For example, the double-angle identity for sine is written:

sin(2θ) = 2sinθ∙cosθ

The uppercase theta is used to symbolize a brain signal frequency ranging from 4-8 Hz.

Iota, the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, is derived from the Phoenician letter yodh. Both the letters "I" and "J" of the Roman/Latin alphabet arose from iota.

The word iota is in the English idiom "not one iota", which means not even a small amount or not at all. It can also mean a strong sense of indifference. This idiom is believed to come from the Bible account of the Sermon on the Mount, where Christ says, "not one iota will pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

In some computer programming languages, iota is a function that generates an array of consecutive integers. For example, ι4 returns {1, 2, 3, 4}.

Kappa, the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet, is derived from the Phoenician letter kaph. The Roman/Latin "K" arose from kappa.

In set theory, kappa is often used to represent an ordinal that is also a cardinal. In cosmology, the Einstein gravitational constant is represented by kappa.

Lambda, the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, is derived from the Phoenician letter lamed. Lambda gave rise to the Latin "L".

In computer science, lambda is the time window over which a process is observed for determining the working memory set.

The lambda particle is a subatomic particle in subatomic particle physics.

Mu, the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet, was derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for water, then used by the Phoenicians and named after their word for water -- mem.

The letter is used as an SI-prefix meaning one millionth; e.g., a micrometer unit symbol is μm.

In statistics, mu is used for the arithmetic mean of a population.

In physics, mu represents the coefficient of friction.