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MATHEMATICS
SYSTEMS OF NUMBERS & CONVERSION

What is a number?
A number is an item that describes a magnitude or a position.

What are the types of numbers?

Numbers are classified into two types, namely cardinal and ordinal numbers.

Cardinal numbers are numbers which allow us to count the objects or ideas in a given collection. Example,
1, 2, 3…, 1000, 1000000 while ordinal numbers states the position of individual objects in a sequence.
Example, first, second, third…

What are numerals?

Numerals are symbols, or combination of symbols which describe a number.

The most widely used numerals are the Arabic numerals and the Roman numerals.

Arabic numerals were simple modification of the Hindu-Arabic number signs and are written in Arabic
digits. Taken singly, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and in combination 20, 21, 22, … 1999, …

The Roman numerals are numbers which are written in Latin alphabet. Example MCMXCIV.

The following are Roman numerals and their equivalent Arabic numbers:

I=1 L = 50 M = 1000
V=5 C = 100
X = 10 D = 500

The Romans used the following to indicate large numbers:

1. Bracket – to multiply it by 100 times.
|X| = 1,000
2. Vinculum (bar above the number) – to multiply the number 1,000 times.
X̅ = 10,000
3. Doorframe – to multiply the number by 100,000 times.
X = 1,000,000

What is a digit?
A digit is a specific symbol or symbols used alone or in combination to denote a number.

For example, the number 21 has two digits, namely 2 and 1. In Roman numerals, the number 9 is denoted
as IX. So the digits I and X were used together to denote one number and that is the number 9.

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In mathematical computations or in some engineering applications, a system of numbers using cardinal

numbers was established and widely used.

What are real numbers?

The number system is divided into two categories namely, real numbers and imaginary number.

Real numbers are classified as follows:

1. Natural numbers – are numbers which are considered as the “counting numbers”.
Examples: 1, 2, 3, …
2. Integers – are all natural numbers, the negative of the natural numbers and the number zero.
Examples: -4, -1, 0, 3, 8
3. Rational numbers – are numbers which can be expressed as a quotient (ratio) of two integers. The
term “rational” comes from the word “ratio”.
Examples: 0.5, 2/3, -3, 0.333…
In the above example, 0.5 can be expressed as 1/2 and -3 can be expressed as -6/2, hence
the two examples are rational numbers. The number 0.333… can also be expressed as 1/3
and therefore a rational number.
The number 0.333… is a repeating and non-terminating decimal. As a rule, a non-
terminating but repeating (or periodic) decimal is always a rational number. Also, all
integers are rational numbers.
4. Irrational numbers – are numbers which cannot be expressed as a quotient of two integers.
Examples: √2, π, e, …
The numbers in the examples above can never be expressed exactly as a quotient of two
integers. They are in fact, a non-terminating number with non-terminating decimal.

What is an imaginary number?

An imaginary number is denoted as “i” which is equal to the square root of negative one. In some other
areas in mathematical computation, especially in electronics and electrical engineering it is denoted as j.

Imaginary number and its equivalent:

i = √-1
i2 = -1
i3 = -i = -√-1
i4 = 1

What is a complex number?

A complex number is an expression of both real and imaginary number combined. It takes the form of a
+ bi, where a and b are real numbers.

If a = 0, then pure imaginary number is produced while real number is obtained when b = 0.

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What is a system of numbers?

A system of numbers is a diagram or chart which shows the two sub-classifications of the two basic
classifications of numbers, namely real numbers and imaginary numbers.

Irrational Natural
Numbers Numbers
Real Numbers
System of Rational
Integers Zero
Numbers Numbers
Imaginary
Numbers
Negative
Numbers

Diagram showing the number system

What is an absolute value?

The absolute value of a real number is the numerical value of the number neglecting the sign.

For example, the absolute value of -5 is 5 while of -x is x. The absolute value |a| is either positive or zero
but can never be negative.

What are fractions?

a
Fractions are numbers which are in the form of b
or a/b, where a is the numerator which may be any
integer while b is the denominator which may be any integer greater than zero. Fraction is also defined
as a part of a whole.

What are the types of fractions?

1. Simple fraction – a fraction in which the numerator and denominator are both integers. This is also
known as a common fraction.
Examples: 2/3, -6/7
2. Proper fraction – is one where the numerator is smaller than the denominator.
Examples: 5/7, 2/3
3. Improper fraction – is one where the numerator where the numerator is greater than the
denominator.

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Examples: 5/2, 12/7

4. Unit fraction – is a fraction with unity for its numerator and positive integer for its denominator.
Example: 1/5, 1/25
5. Simplified fraction – a fraction whose numerator and denominator are integers and their greatest
common factor is 1.
Examples: 1/2, -8/11
6. An integer represented as fraction – a fraction in which the denominator is 1.
Examples: 2/1, 3/1
7. Reciprocal – a fraction that results from interchanging the numerator and denominator.
Example: 4 is the reciprocal of 1/4
8. Complex fraction – a fraction in which the numerator or denominator, or both are fractions.
3 5
8
Examples: 47 , − 1 , 13
2
8 4
9. Similar fractions – two or more simple fraction that have the same denominator.
Examples: 1/9, 4/9, 7/9
10. Zero fraction – a fraction in which the numerator is zero. A zero fraction is equal to zero.
Examples: 0/2, -0/11
11. Undefined fraction – a fraction with denominator of zero.
Example: 8/0
The example above means that 8 is divided by 0, which is an impossibility because nothing
can be divided by zero.
12. Indeterminate fraction – a fraction which has no quantitative meaning.
Example: 0/0
13. Mixed fraction – a number that is a combination of an integer and a proper fraction.
1 8
Examples: 5 2 , 9 11

What is a composite number?

Composite numbers are positive integers that have more than two positive whole number factors. It can
be written as product of two or more integers, each greater than 1. It is observed that most integers are
composite numbers. The number 6 is a composite number because its factors are 1, 2, 3 and 6. The
number 1 is the only natural number that is neither composite nor prime.

What is a prime number?

A prime number is an integer greater than 1 that is divisible only by 1 and itself.

According to the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, “Every positive integer greater than 1 is a prime or
can be expressed as a unique product of primes and powers of primes”.

The following is a list of the prime numbers less than 1,000.

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109,
113, 127, 131, 137, 139, 149, 151, 157, 163, 167, 173, 179, 181, 191, 193, 197, 199, 211, 223, 227, 229,

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233, 239, 241, 251, 257, 263, 269, 271, 277, 281, 283, 293, 307, 311, 313, 317, 331, 337, 347, 349, 353,
359, 367, 373, 379, 383, 389, 397, 401, 409, 419, 421, 431, 433, 439, 443, 449, 457, 461, 463, 467, 479,
487, 491, 499, 503, 509, 521, 523, 541, 547, 557, 563, 569, 571, 577, 587, 593, 599, 601, 607, 613, 617,
619, 631, 641, 643, 647, 653, 659, 661, 673, 677, 683, 691, 701, 709, 719, 727, 733, 739, 743, 751, 757,
761, 769, 773, 787, 797, 809, 811, 821, 823, 827, 829, 839, 853, 857, 859, 863, 877, 881, 883, 887, 907,
911, 919, 929, 937, 941, 947, 953, 967, 971, 977, 983, 991, 997

The number 2 is the only prime number which is an even number.

What are the types of prime numbers?

Natural prime numbers are those that have only two factors; 1 and the number. Twin primes are a set of
two consecutive odd primes, which differ by two. The following are twin primes less than 100.
3, 5 11, 13 29, 31 59, 61
5, 7 17, 19 41, 43 71, 73

Symmetric primes are a pair of prime numbers that are the same distance from a given number line.
Symmetric primes are also called Euler primes. The following are symmetric primes for the number 1
through 25.

Number Symmetric prime

1 None
2 None
3 None
4 3, 5
5 3, 7
6 5, 7
7 3, 11
8 5, 11; 3, 13
9 7, 11; 5, 13
10 7, 13; 3, 17
11 5, 17; 3, 19
12 11, 13; 7, 15; 5, 19
13 7, 19; 3, 23
14 11, 17; 5, 23
15 13 ,17; 11, 19; 7, 23
16 15, 17; 13, 19; 3, 29
17 11, 23; 5, 29; 3, 31
18 17, 19; 13, 23; 7, 29; 5, 31
19 9, 29; 7, 31
20 17, 23; 11, 29; 3, 37
21 19, 23; 13, 29; 11, 31; 5, 37
22 13, 31; 7, 37; 3, 41
23 17, 29; 13, 33; 5, 41; 3, 43

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24 19, 29; 17, 31; 11, 37; 7, 41; 5, 43

25 19, 31; 13, 37; 7, 43; 3, 47

Emirp (prime spelled backwards) is a prime number when its digits are reversed.
The following are emirps less than 500:
11, 13, 17, 31, 71, 37, 73, 79, 97, 101, 107, 113, 131, 149, 151, 157, 167, 179, 181, 191, 199, 311, 313, 337,
347, 353, 359, 373, 383, 389

Relatively prime numbers are numbers whose greatest common factor is 1.

Examples: 4 and 9, 12 and 13

Unique product of power of primes is a number whose factors are prime numbers raised to a certain
power.
Example of a unique product of power of primes: 360 = 23 · 32 · 51

What is a perfect number?

A perfect number is an integer that is equal to the sum of all its possible divisors, except the number itself.
Examples: 6, 28, 496…
In the case of 6, the factors or divisors are 1, 2 and 3. When the factors are added the sum is equal to the
number itself and shown in the following equation:
1+2+3=6

28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 +14
496 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 31 + 62 + 124 + 248

Perfect number is a number that is equal to the sum of its factors excluding itself. They are mathematical
rarities that have no practical use. The formula to find a perfect number is as follows:

2p-1 (2p – 1)
where: p and (2p – 1) are prime numbers

Formula Perfect number

21 (22 – 1) 6
22 (23 – 1) 28
24 (25 – 1) 496
26 (27 – 1) 8128

What are an abundant numbers and deficient numbers?

If the sum of the possible divisors is greater than the number, it is referred to as abundant number.

A defective number is an integer with the sum of all its possible divisor is less than the number itself. It is
also called deficient number.

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The following is a list of the first 25 numbers with its corresponding type, D for deficient and A for
abundant.

Number Factors excluding itself Sum Type

1 0 D
2 1 1 D
3 1 1 D
4 1, 2 3 D
5 1 1 D
6 1, 2, 3 6 Perfect
7 1 1 D
8 1, 2, 4 7 D
9 1, 3 4 D
10 1, 2, 5 8 D
11 1 1 D
12 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 16 A
13 1 1 D
14 1, 2, 7 10 D
15 1, 3, 5 9 D
16 1, 2, 4, 8 15 D
17 1 1 D
18 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 21 A
19 1 1 D
20 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 22 A
21 1, 3, 7 11 D
22 1, 2, 11 14 D
23 1 1 D
24 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 36 A
25 1, 5 6 D

What are amicable numbers?

Amicable numbers or friendly numbers refer to two integers where each is the sum of all the possible
divisors of the other.

The smallest known amicable numbers are 220 and 284.

The number 220 has the following factors/divisors: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 221, 44, 55, & 110 which when
added sums up to 284, while the number 284 has the following divisors 1, 2, 4, 71, and 142 which adds up
to 220.

There are more than 1000 pairs of amicable numbers have been found. The following are the ten smallest
pairs of amicable numbers.

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220 and 284

1184 and 1210
2620 and 2924
5020 and 5564
6232 and 6368
10744 and 10856
12285 and 14595
17296 and 18416
63020 and 76084
66928 and 66992

What is a factorial?
A factorial denoted as n!, represents the product of all positive integers from 1 to n, inclusive.

Example: n! = n(n – 1)… 3, 2, 1

If n = 0, by definition:
(n!)(n + 1) = (n + 1)! ← Recursion formula
(0!)(0 + 1) = (0 + 1)!
0!(1) = 1!
0! = 1

The factorial symbol (!) was introduced by Christian Kramp in 1808.

What are significant figures or digits?

Significant figures or digits are digits that define the numerical value of a number.

A digit is considered significant unless it is used to place a decimal point.

The significant digit of a number begins with the first non-zero digit and ends with the final digit, whether
zero or non-zero.

Examples:
16.72 4 significant figures
1.672 x 103 4 significant figures
0.0016 2 significant figures

Example 2 is expressed in scientific notation and figures considered significant are 1, 6, 7 and 2 excluding
103. Example 3 has 2 significant figures only because the 3 zeros are used only to place a decimal.

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The number of significant digit is considered the place of accuracy. Hence, a number with 3 significant
digits is said to have a three place accuracy and a number with 4 significant figures is said to have four
place accuracy.

What are the forms of approximations?

There are two forms of approximations, namely rounding and truncation.

Rounding of a number means replacing the number with another number having fewer significant decimal
digits, or for integer number, fewer value-carrying (non-zero) digits.

Examples:
3.14159 shall be rounded up to 3.1416
3.12354 shall be rounded up to 3.1235

Truncation refers to the dropping of the next digits in order to obtain the degree of accuracy beyond the
need of practical calculations. This is just the same as rounding down and truncated values will always
have values lower than the exact values.

Example: 3.1415 is truncated to 3 decimal as 3.141

What is conversion?
Conversion is the process of getting the equivalent value in another unit of measure of a certain value
with a different given unit of measure.

CONVERSION TABLE

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PHYSICAL CONSTANTS TABLE

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POWER OF 10 TABLE

NUMERATION TABLE

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MATH NOTATION TABLE

GREEK ALPHABETS TABLE

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How to convert a temperature in degree Celsius to degree Fahrenheit and vice versa?
The unit “Celsius” was named after the Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius (1701-1744). In this unit of
temperature, the boiling point and freezing point are 100 degrees and 0 degree, respectively.

The unit “Fahrenheit” was named after the German physicist, Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736). In
this unit of temperature, the boiling point and freezing point are 212 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively.

By ratio and proportion:

C−0 F − 32
=
100 − 0 212 − 32
C F − 32
=
100 180
100
C= (F − 32)
180
𝟓 𝟗
𝐂 = (𝐅 − 𝟑𝟐) 𝒐𝒓 𝐅 = (𝐂 + 𝟑𝟐)
𝟗 𝟓

Sample Problem 1:

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Convert 45°C to °F.

Solution:
9 9
F = (C + 32) = (45 + 32) = 𝟏𝟏𝟑℉
5 5

Sample Problem 2:
At what temperature will the Centigrade scale and Fahrenheit scale will have the same reading?

Solution:
For same reading, F = C
9
F = (C + 32)
5
9
F = (F + 32)
5
0.8F = −32
𝐅 = −𝟒𝟎°

How to convert a temperature in degree Celsius or degree Fahrenheit to absolute temperature?

Absolute temperature may be expressed in Kelvin or in Rankine.

Kelvin was named after British physicist, William Thompson (1824-1902) the First Baron, Kelvin.

Rankine was named after Scottish engineer and physicist, William John Macquorn Rankine (1820-1872).

The formulas for conversion to absolute temperature are as follows:

K = °C + 273 °R = °F + 460

Sample Problem 1:
Express the temperature of 60°C to absolute temperature.

Solution:
K = °C + 273 = 60 + 273 = 333 K

Sample Problem 2:
Express the temperature of 150°F to absolute temperature.

Solution:
°R = °F + 460 = 150 + 460 = 610°R

How to convert one unit of an angle to another unit?

There are four units commonly used to measure an angle. They are degrees, radians, grads, and mils.

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The degree is the most commonly used measure of an angle. The radian is an angle subtended by an arc
equal to the length of the radius of the circle.

The following is a tabulation of the unit of angle measurement and the corresponding value in one
revolution:

Unit 1 Revolution
Degree 360
Radian 2π
Grad 400
Mil 6400

Sample Problem 1:
How many mils are there is 90 degrees?

Solution:
6400 mils
90° × = 𝟏𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐬
360°

Sample Problem 2:
How many radians is equivalent to 320 grads?

Solution:
2π radians
320 grads × = 𝟓. 𝟎𝟑 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬
400 grads

Sample Problem 3:
145 degrees is equivalent to how many grads?

Solution:
400 grads
145° × = 𝟏𝟔𝟏. 𝟏𝟏 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐬
360°

Sample Problem 4:
There are how many grads in 1200 mils?

Solution:
400 grads
1200 mils × = 𝟕𝟓 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐬
6400 mils

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