Where do our numbers come from?

The search for numbers has been happening since time began. Different
civilizations used different number systems, but they all followed a general rule:
specific symbols were used to represent the numbers. In our number system, we
use the symbol 1 to represent the number one, 10 to represent the number ten,
and so on.
The Egyptians used a number system that grouped numbers together.
Similar to the Roman numerals we see today, the Egyptians used I to represent
one, II to represent two, III to represent three, and so on. However, unlike
Roman numerals, the Egyptians used the tally marks all the way up to the number
ten. For example, IIIIIIIII was used to represent the number nine, but we do not
see this written on clocks today! That is much too long!
The Romans took the Egyptian number system and altered the symbols used.
For example, instead of writing the number nine as the Egyptians would have,
Romans wrote it IX. This is much easier to read! How did the Romans come up
with this representation of the number nine? I is the Roman numeral for the
number one. X is the Roman numeral for the number ten. When we do math in
class, we know that 10-1=9. If we were to write 1-10, what would be get? -9!
Thats not the same number! However, the Romans did math a bit differently than
we do today.

When the Romans were creating their number system, they wanted things to
be as easy to read as possible. In our current number system, each number is
represented with a different symbol. How many different symbols are used in our
number system when we count to ten? There are ten! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10! In the
Roman numeral system, only three different symbols were used when counting to
ten. Do you know what they are? I,V,X! These represent 1,5,10. Similar to the
Egyptians, the Romans added an extra symbol when counting. Remember how the
Egyptians counted to three? I,II,III. How is that different from our current number
system? We change the symbol when counting. So, we do not count to three as
1,11,111. We change the symbols to be 1,2,3!
Do you remember how the Romans wrote the number nine as IX? How did
they get that? When the Romans were going to be changing symbols (I to V, for
example) they subtracted. This means that instead of writing the number four as
IIII it was written IV. The Romans simply did subtraction! They used the
symbol for one, I and the symbol for five, V and did simple subtraction, but in
an order that is different than ours. Though the order of the numbers would be 1-5
using our current number system, the Romans flipped the order of their numbers
when subtracting, so that their equation was still 5-1=4!
This is a lot of information! So is our number system more like the Romans
or the Egyptians? That is an excellent question, and one that is difficult to answer.

We use aspects from both cultures! Our number system uses symbols, just as the
Egyptians did, and our number system shortens the number symbols so that they
are easier to read, just as the Romans did. Our current number system is based off
of both cultures, and twisted to make it our own. Our current numbers are not
more the Egyptians or more like the Romansthey are a combination of both!
Lets keep working with our number system and see where it takes us. The
world is full of possibilities, and numbers are a great place to start!

We learned in class that our numbers have different place values. There is
the ones place, the tens place, and the hundreds place. What is the relationship
between 1, 10, and 100? Ten! 1x10=10. 1x10x10=100! If we kept adding tens,
we would get more and more place values. This means that our number system is
a base 10 system. Some civilizations did not use 10 as their base, but it is fairly
universal today to use a base 10 system.