Difference between revisions of "Positional notation"
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'''Positional notation''' or '''place-value notation''' is a method of representing or [[encoding]] [[number]]s. | '''Positional notation''' or '''place-value notation''' is a method of representing or [[encoding]] [[number]]s. | ||
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
Revision as of 09:18, 5 February 2016
Positional notation or place-value notation is a method of representing or encoding numbers.
Description
Positional notation is distinguished from other notations (such as Roman numerals) for its use of the same symbol for the different orders of magnitude (for example, the "ones place", "tens place", "hundreds place").
This greatly simplified arithmetic leading to the rapid spread of the notation across the world.
Base ten
With the use of a radix point (decimal point in base-10), the notation can be extended to include fractions and the numeric expansions of real numbers.
It developed from the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, and is the most commonly used system in the world today for most calculations.
Base sixty
The Babylonian numeral system, base-60, was the first positional system developed, and is still used today to count time and angles.
See also
- Arithmetic
- Babylonian Numerals
- Encoding
- Decimal representation
- Fraction (mathematics)
- Hexadecimal
- Hindu–Arabic numeral system
- Number
- Orders of magnitude
- Radix point
- Real number
- Roman numerals
External links
- Positional notation @ Wikipedia
