PRINCIPLES OF NUMERATION

The five principles

The Hindu-Arabic system we use is based on five principles:BasePositionMultiplicationAdditiveOdometer

Base 10The numeration system is a base 10 system and uses only 10 digits:

0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9

PositionThe position of a digit indicates its value and every place in the system is related to others by powers of 10.

MultiplicativeThe value of each digit is multiplied by the value of its place e.g. in 26 the value of the 2 is 2 x 10 and the value of the 6 is 6 x 1.

AdditiveDigits in a number are added to give its value e.g. to give the total amount of 26, 20 + 6 are added together.

OdometerThe Hindu-Arabic system is a system that every place counts. You can compare this to an odometer. On each count of 1 – 9 , the wheel turns and when the 10th turn is made, the next number in the reel turns.