Mathematics: The Study of Numbers, Quantity, and Space

Mathematics: The Study of Numbers, Quantity, and Space — page 9
Mathematics The Study of Numbers Quantity and Space Egyptian arithmetic based on counting in groups of 10 was relatively simple Base 10 systems the most widespread throughout the world probably arose for biological rear sons The fingers of both hands facilitated natural counting in groups of 10 Numbers are sometimes called digits from the Latin word for finger In the Egyptians base 10 arithmetic hieroglyphs stood for individual units and groups of tens hundreds and thour sands Higher powers of 10 made it possible to count numbers into the millions Unlike our familiar number system which is both decimal and positional 23 is not the same as 32 the Egyptians arithmetic was not posi tional but additive Unlike the Egyptians the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia developed flexible tech niques for dealing with fractions They also succeeded in developing a more sophisticated base 10 arithmetic that was positional and they kept mathematical records on clay tablets The most remarkable feature of Babylonian arithmetic was its use of a sexagesimal base 60 place valued system in addition to a deci mal system Thus the Babylonians counted in groups of 60 as well as 10 Babylonian 14