| Interesting Math History |
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| Question : |
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What is the origin of Roman Numerals and how actually is the counting done on this system ? |
Answer : |
Roman Numerals originated in Rome and were used by the ancient Romans almost 2000 years ago. They were originally independent
symbols. In this system seven symbols
are used :
I V X L C D M |
Where I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500 and M = 1000.
The numbers represented are 1, 5 and multiples of 5 and 10, the number of fingers on the hand and on two hands. There is no
zero in this system. The other numerals like 2, 3, 6 are represented with these above symbols by placing them in a row and
adding or subtracting, such as :
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1 = I |
6 = VI (V + I) |
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2 = II |
7 = VII (V + I + I) |
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3 = III |
8 = VIII (V + I + I + I) |
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4 = IV (one subtracted from five) |
9 = IX (one subtracted from ten) |
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5 = V |
10 = X |
| 19 = XIX; 27 = XXVII; 152 = CLII and so on. |
Roman numerals were used by bankers and book-keepers until the eighteenth century as they did not trust symbols like 6, 8,
or 9 that could easily be changed to other numbers.
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