LESSON 1

Compare and analyse a variety of numeration

systems

Contents

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Numeration system
1.3 The History of numbers
1.3.1 The number zero
1.3.2 The real number system
1.3.3 Types of numbers
1.4 Properties of the Hindu-Arabic numeration system
1.4.1 The place value
1.4.2 The Egyptian number system
1.4.3 The Chinese number system
1.4.4 The Mayan number system
1.4.5 The Greek number system
1.4.6 The Babylonian number system
1.5 Test your knowledge
1.6 Conclusion
1.7 Additional information

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit, you should be able to

• understand the importance of the Hindu-Arabic numeration system
• give a brief overview of the historical development of numeration systems
• describe how different numeration systems relate to each other

What follows below, is an overview of the historical development of numeration systems.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Numbers are so elemental that is seems inconceivable we could have lived without them,
yet numbers are only an abstract idea that gradually dawned on humans. The evolu-
tion of numbers as they inhabited cultures, then faded, and erupted again, diversifying
in hundreds of filigree variations, is really a history of thinking itself. Beginning with
numbers – even more than letters – we began living in our heads. Thousands of years
later a restless man sets out to answer an almost childlike question: where did numbers
come from? In his pursuit – becoming a world expert along the way – he uncovers this

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Open Rubric
 exponentially complex, infinitely fascinating and forever enlightening history. This is the
ultimate archive about the culture of numbers.
Kevin Kelly

Throughout the history of numbers, a variety of numeration systems have been developed
to represent numbers. The number system we are most familiar with is known as the Hindu-
Arabic numeral system. In this unit, we will focus our learning mostly on ancient number
systems and see how they relate to our current number system, the Hindu-Arabic system.

1.2 NUMERATION SYSTEMS

Nowadays we step with careless ease from zero to one, so confident are we, thanks to
computer scientists and our mathematical masters, that the Void always comes before
the Unit. We never stop to think for a moment that, in terms of time, it was a huge step
from the invention of the number “one”, the first of all numbers even in the chronological
sense, to the invention of the number “zero”, the last major invention in the story of
numbers. For, in fact, the whole history of humanity is spread out backwards between
the time when it was realised that the void was “nothing” and the time when the sense
of “oneness” first arose, as humans became aware of their individual solitude in the face
of life and death, of the specificity of their species as distinct from other living beings, of
the singularity of their selves as distinct from others, or of the difference of their sex as
distinct from that of their partners.

The number or numeral system is regarded as one of the ways of representing or naming
numbers. The two best-known number systems are the binary number system (base 2)
and the decimal number system (base 10). The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a by-
product of the binary number system.

There are many other types of number systems, but the most common ones are
• Decimal number systems (base 10) – The symbols that make up the decimal number
system are all from 0 to 9, namely 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; and one such number would
be 5 627.
• The Binary number system (base 2) – The symbols that make up the binary number
system are 0 and 1 and one such numbers would be 10112.
• The Octal number system (base 8) – The symbols that make up the octal number
system are from 0 to 7 and some octal numbers would be 258; 1078; 2016458.
• The Hexadecimal number system (base 16). The symbols that make up the binary
number system are 0 and 1 and the numbers would be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 is 1016; 17 is 1116, and 18 is 1216 …… Some computers use the
hexadecimal system to compute and represent colour codes, for instance. The digits
10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are represented by the letters A, B, C, D, E and F.

Hexa- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
decimal
Decimal 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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It is possible to covert from one base to another, for instance from base 10 to base 2 and
vice versa.

At primary school the curriculum requires learners to learn conversions to base 10, base
2 and base 5 and vice versa.

The number system is considered to have been one of the greatest inventions of humankind.
It grew out of the need to survive by ensuring the documentation and itemisation of
entities. All societies had to find a way of accounting for possession. Each system started
as a crude numeration of items using body parts – mainly fingers and toes – and stones
and sticks to represent quantity and counting as we know it today (Boyer 1989). At the
beginning, numeral symbols were used instead of numbers.

1.3 THE HISTORY OF NUMBERS

There are over 1460 million hits on the internet if one googles “the history of numbers”.
What that tells us is that number as a concept, its various forms, its cardinal and nominal
utility and the various systems that have been invented by different communities have
all contributed to the interest in its history.

The invention of the various symbols occurred in the human quest to quantify and
respond to the question of “How many?”. Numbers evolved from a unit of counting to
a unit of measure. The Egyptians are credited for advancing the use of numbers from
counting to measuring. The various systems discussed earlier all point to the single need
to symbolise numbers. A number is therefore imaginary and is an idea in one’s mind.
There is no number 6 unless we refer to a specific entity such as six children or books or
trees. As such 6 does exist, but in the mind. When we write down 6, it is the numeral, the
symbolic representation of 6.
• A number is a count or measurement that is really an idea in our minds.
• A numeral is a symbol or name that stands for a number.
• A digit is a single symbol used to make up numerals.
• So, while the number is an idea, the numeral is how we write it.

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Adopted from Luneta (2018)

5639 is a numeral with 4 digits

1.3.1 The number zero
The number zero has received a lot of attention in mathematics and its invention in India
radicalised the concept of place value and advanced the use of the Hindu-Arabic number
system compared to other numbers. However, mathematics history books have attributed
the zero to the Mayan and Indian mathematicians.

The invention of the zero concept was pivotal. The symbol representing nothing and used
as a place holder turned out to be an important component in understanding place value
and crucial in computing the addition and subtraction of multiple-digit numbers, as well
as the representation and meaning of numbers in base 10. The name of the symbol 5 in
English is “five” but the meaning changes depending on its position relative to that of the 0.

5 50 500 5000
five fifty five hundred five thousand

Zero has been used for two purposes: as a symbol to represent an empty space or nothing
and as a number with its own mathematical properties, used to manipulate mathematical
algorithms.

Here are some properties of zero

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• The additive identity of addition is zero. Any number added to zero remains the same.
• The “evenness” of zero. Zero is an even number because is divisible by 2 (0 ÷ 2 = 0).
• Zero is neither positive nor negative, it is neutral.
• Zero is a multiple of any number.
• Division by zero is undefined. Here is a mathematical explanation to this:

Division is the inverse operation of multiplication, so we can say that if , then p × r = q. Let
us assume that , then it means that 0 × r = q. But we know that any number multiplied
by 0 must be zero, so q must be zero! But then r can take on any number! Therefore, we
say that division by zero is undefined.

1.3.2 The real number system

These are numbers that can be written in such a way that they have repeating decimal
fractions. All rational numbers are essentially real numbers. Numbers whose decimal
fractions do not repeat are irrational numbers such as Pi = π =3.14…, the ratio of the
perimeter of the circle to its diameter, and also the square root of 2 = 1.4142… .

Real numbers can be tabulated on a number line such as

Source: https://www.ipracticemath.com/learn/realnumber

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The set of real numbers is said to be the mother set of numbers, as illustrated below.

Source: https://www.ipracticemath.com/learn/realnumber

1.3.3 Types of numbers

The following are the other types of real numbers:

Whole numbers (W)

These are numbers that range from 0 to infinity: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 ……

Natural numbers (N)

These are sometimes classified as “counting numbers”. They start from 1 to infinity:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 …

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Integers (Z)
These are positive and negative whole numbers
……–6, –5, –4, –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 …

Rational Numbers (Q)

Rational number are fractions where p and q are both integers, but q, the denominator,
is a non-zero number. Examples are

-7,

For more information on number systems and the history of numbers, read the
recommended book: Luneta (2018) Chapter 16: Numbers and Numeration.

1.4 PROPERTIES OF THE HINDU-ARABIC NUMERATION

SYSTEM
The Hindu-Arabic number system is deemed to be the most advanced number system
of them all. It is a base 10 number system that uses a set of symbols – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9 – to represent the numbers. It was invented in India between the 1st and 4th century
BC the 6th century CE to aid with mathematical manipulations. It was popularised in
Europe by the Arab merchants – hence the name Hindu-Arabic. Like the other number
systems, the Hindu-Arabic evolved with varying symbols, until the currently used ones.
Below is a diagram from www.archmedia.lab.org showing the evolution of the Hindu-
Arabic number system.

The Hindu-Arabic number system could be considered the most used system in the
Western world and Africa and it hinges on the ten digits – 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Within all of these numbers there are different families of numbers that operate under
different properties.

1.4.1 The place value

Place value is the pinnacle of the Hindu-Arabic number system, where numbers are
represented by the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (Hansen 2014:23). The digits appear
in columns and the value of each digit is determined by the column in which it appears

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– and that is what makes it difficult for learners to comprehend because, while a learner
is initially informed that 9 is the largest digit, its value can change depending on its place
in the number. For instance in 19, 1 has a greater value than 9.

Figure 1: Place value chart

Place value is regarded as an effective method of representing numbers, especially when

performing the four operations in calculations (Suffolk 2004). The development of the
place value took a long time to operationalise and it is therefore not surprising that many
children find place value concepts difficult (Hansen 2014). The other number systems have
not been able to develop a place value concept and, as a result, their representation in
calculations has proven to be difficult and cumbersome.

1.4.2 The Egyptian number system

The Egyptian number system used the symbols shown below:

Source: Esther Ortenz. 1964. Numbers in ancient times. Maine: J Weston Walch. Page 9.

The Egyptian numeration system, which dates back to about 3400 BC, used tally marks
for the numbers from one to nine:

[[[[[[
[[[

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The symbols were written on stone, papyrus, wood and pottery and the Egyptians wrote
their numbers from right to left.

In the table below the other numerals that the Egyptians used in their system are shown:

Table 1.1: Egyptian numerals

Egyptian /// #
/ // /// //// /// /// //// //// ///
// /// /// //// ///

Hindu-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Arabic

Egyptian

Hindu-
100 1 000 10 000 100 000 1 000 000
Arabic

For more on the Egyptian number system, read Boyer, Carl B. 1968. A history of mathematics.
New York: John Wiley.

Imagine that you are an ancient Egyptian. How would you write13 521?

1.4.3 The Chinese number system

The Chinese used sticks laid down on tables to numerate and represent calculations, as
shown below.

Source: Smith, David & Ginsburg, Jekuthiel. 1937. Numbers and numerals. WD Reeve. Page 11.

The Chinese numeration system has characters that correspond to the numbers zero to
nine. With the global influence of China, the Chinese number system and symbols are
likely to grow in popularity in the world. Unlike the number system we are used to, the
Chinese system also has special characters to represent ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten
thousand, as well as other multiples of ten:

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Table 1.2: Chinese numerals

0 zero

1 one

2 two

3 three

4 four

5 five

6 six

The number 75 is written in Chinese using the characters 7, 10, and 5 or .

In Chinese you need to say that you have 7 tens first. 7 tens is how 70 is represented.
Once you have the tens in place in Chinese, you can finish writing the number with the
character for 5. Chinese has no special place character for ones, but a character is used
for the other place values. The character for ten is needed. You cannot write 75 as
.

How would you write 63?

1.4.4 The Mayan number system

The Mayan number system is one of the oldest known number systems. Dating back to
the 4th century BC, the system was originally based on base 20, because the Mayans wore
no shoes and used all fingers and toes to count. The system used two symbols: a dot (.)
to represent a unit and a dash (–) to represent a five (McLeish 1991).

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Table 1.3: The Mayan numeration system

1 2 3 4 5

5+1 5+2 5+3 5+4 10

(5 + 5)

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5+5+2 5+5+5+1
5+5+5+5+4

20 20+20 or 100
(1x20) (2x20) or (5x20) 140 15 x 20
or (7x20)

The Mayans wrote numbers vertically, with the greatest place value on top.

Challenge

What do these symbols represent?

.....................................................................................................................................

Show your working:

.....................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................

1.4.5 The Greek number system

Among the systems with symbols still prominently used in science, is the Greek number
system. The Greek number system was and still is based on the alphabet and uses the

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symbols to represent words. The word ‘alphabet’, for instance, came from their first letter
symbol ‘alpha’ and the second symbol ‘beta’. 27 letters made up the number system and
the alphabet. 24 letters make up the current Greek alphabet and number symbols.

Table 1.4: The Greek number system

Source: Boyer, Carl B. 1968. A history of mathematics. New York: John Wiley.

1.4.6 The Babylonian number system

This system was among the earliest and began with tally marks just as most ancient
mathematics number systems did. The system was based on base 60. The symbol of a
wedge was used to represent a number.

The Babylonian number system used the symbol  to represent 1 and  for ten, such
that the numbers as 24 and 52 would be:

24:  and 42:  52: 

Descriptions Example

Any number less than 10 had a wedge that pointed

down. 4 is

The number 10 was symbolised by a wedge pointing to 20 is 

the left.

Numbers less than 60 were made by combining the sym-

bols of 1and 10.
47 is

As with our numbering system, the Babylonian number-

ing system utilised units, i.e. tens, hundreds, thousands. 64 is

Source: McLeish, J. 1991. The story of numbers. New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine.

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Round about 3000 BC, clay was abundant in Mesopotamia and the Babylonians made
wedge-shaped marks in soft clay, using a stylus. They then baked the clay in ovens or
used the heat of the sun to dry it. Only two symbols were used: V and <

Table 1.5: The Babylonian numeration system

Babylonian V VV VVV VVVV VVVVV VVVVVV VVVVVVV VVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVV

Hindu- 1 or 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Arabic 60
Babylonian < <V <<
Hindu- 10 or
(10 + 1) 20
Arabic (1 x 60)

Study the symbols above and then answer the following questions:
(1) What base did the Babylonians use? ................................
(2) Here is an example representing the number 84
V < < VVVV
60 + 10 + 10 + 4 = 84

Write the numbers below as the Sumerians/Babylonians would have represented them:

Hindu-Arabic 52 71 108

Babylonian

1.5 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Activity

(1) Describe how the numeration system developed.

(2) Discuss the Hindu-Arabic number system and especially why it is more advanced
and friendlier to use than the other number systems.
(3) Discuss the major difference between the Mayan, Egyptian, Greek and Babylonian
number systems.
(4) Write the following numbers of the Hindu-Arabic number system in the Babylonian
number system:
(a) 25
(b) 56
(c) 81
(5) Describe the term ‘number’ in mathematics.
(6) How does one differentiate a number from a numeral.

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 (7) What is the difference between a numeral and a digit?

Feedback
1

Answers to the assessment activity above can be found in the following sections:
(1) Section 1.2
(2) Section 1.2
(3) Section 1.4
(4) Section 1.4.6
(5) Section on Course content vii
(6) Section 1.3
(7) Section 1.3

1.6 CONCLUSION
This unit introduced you to the history of numeration and the various number systems.
At primary school, especially in the Intermediate Phase, learners’ ability to operationalise
numbers is crucial, as it is from this elementary knowledge that more complex future
mathematical thinking is developed. It is worth noting here that teachers’ knowledge and
ability to explain the historical evolution of number and number systems is important in
the teaching of the primary mathematics curriculum.

1.7 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional reading for lesson 1 can be found here:
• Bednarz, Nadine & Janvier, Bernadette. 1982. The understanding of numeration in
primary school. Educational Studies in Mathematics 13: 44–57.
• https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/early-math-how-
children-learn-about-numbers

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