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Lesson 10 of 11

8 min

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Eight ideas, eight checks. The table comes first, so nothing has to be remembered cold.

Eight decisions behind a way of writing numbers
IdeaHow it goes
One mark eachOne stroke per thing counted, and nothing else.
BundlesBundles times size, plus the loose marks, give back the count.
Roman symbolsSymbols add. Six pairs take away: IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM.
Roman examplesXXXVII is 10+10+10+5+1+1 = 37. IV is 5 − 1 = 4.
The columnA 5 is worth 5, 50 or 500, by column.
The empty placeWith no zero, 205, 25 and 250 all write the same.
Ten symbolsA column holds one of ten symbols, 0 to 9. One more than 9 moves to the next column.
Cost of addingColumns cost about a mark per digit. For these sums, symbols cost at least three times as many.

A row of 20 strokes was written as balls were bowled. What does the row record?

  • Twenty bats
  • Twenty things, one stroke each
  • The runs scored off each ball

23 items are bundled in fives. How many full bundles, and how many loose?

  • 5 bundles and 2 loose
  • 4 bundles and 3 loose
  • 4 bundles and 5 loose

XIV and XVI use the same three symbols. What are they worth?

  • 16 and 14
  • 14 and 16
  • 16 and 16

What is digit 5 worth in the ones, tens and hundreds column?

  • 5 every time
  • 5, then 50, then 500
  • 5, then 15, then 25

A system has no symbol for an empty column. How does it write 205, 25 and 250?

  • As three different strings
  • All three as a 2 then a 5
  • Only 205 and 250 the same

A frame holds 4 thousands, 0 hundreds, 7 tens and 3 ones. What number is that?

  • 473
  • 4073
  • 40073

Adding 8 and 9, which route costs more, and by how much?

  • Columns, at 5 marks against 24
  • Symbols, at 24 marks against 5
  • Neither, both end on 17

How many of the seven symbols does 1,23,45,678 need?

  • Eight
  • 12,354
  • It cannot be written

Part I, Chapter 3 is A Story of Numbers. Read it in your book. Ask two questions. What is a symbol worth? Does its place matter?

Next: Quadrilaterals — four sides, four corners, and the names a shape earns.

Reveal every answer to finish this lesson.