What Are Additive Numbering Systems?

Before talking about an additive system, the first thing to know is what a system is or means, since that is where the general knowledge of everything it generates starts, based on a base knowledge, to try to know or build a unified, any knowledge.

A system is the construction of rules and precepts so that any form of work is compacted and manages to define parameters to be able to imply a feasible response to a whole, that is, order everything related to a topic and make it easy to understand.

A numbering system makes counting easier for the person who performs the action, a person, mathematician, teacher, student, among many, capable of wanting to order numbers to communicate or group knowledge in an orderly and straight manner.

The numbering system counts, groups and defines the digits to be able to work with them quickly, regardless of its extension or infinity, but rather grouping the entire system so that the number can be completed.

In the normal system you can find from the highest unit that can be the thousandth of a million, as the smallest or the unit starting from the number 1 to the infinite number  because the number system has no end, so it is all about a group.

What do you need:

  • hieroglyphics.
  • Drawings.
  • Digits.
  • System.
  • Objects.
  • figures.
  • Empire.
  • Commercial transaction.

Instructions

In ancient times, a system based on drawings was used, which were used to represent a digit by changing its place to refer to a quantity or using the units to achieve it, maintaining an order, even promoting a perfect system. Those who used it were the Egyptians and through this system they were able to make different types of changes in terms of purchase and sale contracts that made their lives easier when it came to wanting to negotiate between them a material good or trading grain.

The drawings were a kind of representation that made them distinguish numbers more easily, so it was part of a strategic system that they used to make the different calculations necessary in commercial transactions, among many other things.

The additive numbering system is a representation of adding digits in the form of symbols, which respond to the different forms of communication that exist in the world, having as a specific norm an image to determine the number and the position that stands out.

Learn about the additive number system step by step

  1. Egypt was the first state to relate the use of the additive numbering system through figures, which it later modified by adopting the Roman system, but which, despite everything, continued to be used as part of its customs in commercial transactions.
  2. On the other hand, it is known that the Egyptians also used the numeration that we currently have, including fractions, so their organized culture is due in large part to the system they implemented to count, add , the use of numbers, among other things.
  3. Later, the Greeks implemented a numbering system that was very different from that of the Egyptians, but it was also very popular for each of the activities in which they needed to represent exact amounts through different figures.
  4. Next, a system was introduced where the use of the letters of the alphabet could represent numbers, due to their similarity to words, so their use was based on adding the numbers that were identified by the letters, a bit complex but easy for Some.
  5. It was the Greeks who implemented the additive numbering system combined with the multiplicative one to arrive at an exact figure that gave them the possibility of doing mathematical operations without any problem and quickly.
  6. In addition to all this, at the same time the Chinese exercised their superiority by inventing a system that also used to carry out exchanges with the use of powers of 10 and units, understanding that it uses numbers up to that digit.
  7. It is then known that additive systems, coming from any culture, tend to unify different symbols or figures to identify the units, the tens, the hundreds and those that follow, to have an exact grouping without inaccuracies.
  8. Each drawing represents an exact numbering and is in turn representative of the culture to which it refers, for this reason each one of them made their system based on their origin, beliefs and, in addition, what was within their reach.
  9. The so-called positional systems offered a more equitable value, referring to the fact that the position of any digit gave its value and thus it was known if it was of lesser or greater value, to give better veracity to mathematical numbering.
  10. The Babylonians had more than a whole numbering system based on 10 additive up to the number 60 and from then on it was positioned according to the quantity that they wanted to take into account, even exaggeratedly large quantities.
  11. It was about the unification of an additive and positional system where the figures represented numbers, typical of civilization, which is why some signs that intersected or were positioned on top of each other were characteristic.
  12. The Mayans, on the contrary, used base 20, which is the number of symbols used to represent it, in addition to 5 to counteract it, with dots and dashes as numbers where 5 was one dash and 10 two, you could see 20 with 4 stripes.
  13. The points in this system represented the annex to each one of the lines, which meant that a 2 was two points and a 7 came to be a line of the 5 plus two points of the 2, an order in each of the symbols that formed the numbers for this civilization.
  14. In addition, for the Mayans, the symbols represented based on 20 means that each figure must be multiplied by 20, depending on the position it occupies in space, therefore it is also evident that it is an additive positional combination.
  15. Zero seemed not to work for each of these civilizations, so it is not named anywhere or was non-existent, a null part of the combination of numbers among themselves that helped to carry out so many activities to help them on a daily basis.
  16. The symbology gave relative value to each digit, making it necessary for the organization to be more interested in the quality of a numerical system that would provide them with a calendar, accounts, home numbers, among many other ways of using numerical symbols.
  17. The part of the calendar was made by the scientists who were dedicated to the study of the stars and for this they made an additive system that gave them an answer to each concern to organize each part of it well and form what we have at our disposal today.
  18. To achieve the year they multiplied 18 by 20 and this gave them an almost exact number of what we have today as the year for us, dividing the month into 18 parts that would be the months with a duration of 20 days each.
  19. If we pay a little attention to this figure, it does not add up, but at the time it gave them the closest thing they had to a system organized through the stars, although the calculations never came out of the elaboration of this calendar.
  20. Thanks to one of the civilizations that were our ancestors, today we know the numbering system that we know today with 10 digits that go from 0 to 9, giving position to the rest from 10 onwards.
  21. It is believed that this comes from the Arabic numeral system, but recent studies show that it comes from India, which today we handle daily in the different activities that are carried out in the world with numbers.
  22. The 0 is considered a numerical part despite not having a specific value, but it maintains its intermediate position and at the end of each part, maintaining a system that generates diversity of changes in terms of economic transactions.
  23. The additive system adds all the symbols that represent a number, used to have a necessary amount according to what you want to manifest, the symbol is what it is worth and gives an important value to the accounts that you want to get.
  24. They are not very good at naming a large number of numbers, but it is effective if you take into account what you want to demonstrate, although it seems impractical at the time, it worked well for each of the civilizations that used them.
  25. The symbols could be represented with dots, lines, figures, signs and each one expresses a numerical form, it is worth knowing each of the systems that arose in each civilization to know the way in which they carried out their economic transactions.

Tips

  • Find information about each of the civilizations that helped form the different systems.
  • The calculation and the way of representing the digits that you handle today comes from India perfected by the Arabs.
  • Without this numerical form, calculations could not be made, so value the system that has allowed you to have the story.
  • Without numbers, technology would not have important advances in terms of new devices for information.
  • Each of the systems organizes the numbers according to the specific form that it represents, the ideal is to know it to see how it works.

Learn about numbers and common problems like solving equations  or doing analysis of variance and much more.

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