Roman Numerals - A Confusing Yet Interesting Concept!
Ancient Romans used a unique way of representing their numbers. They are denoted by different combinations of Signs (included in the English Alphabet). Example: V -> 5. You might have also seen Clocks that use these Roman Numbers like these in the picture below:
We can easily write the numbers if we know and understand the following symbols and what they stand for.
The Rules:
If a symbol is before a larger symbol then they are subtracted.
Eg: IX = X - I = 10 - 1 = 9
If a symbol is after a larger symbol then they are added.
Eg: CXX = C + X + X = 100 + 10 + 10 = 120
We also have a Mnemonic for this, which is After Larger is Added.
Roman Numbers:
Now that we know the Roman Symbols, let's look at the Roman Numbers which are formed by combining Symbols.
You don't really need to learn all these numbers, you can easily form them by understanding the Roman Number Symbols and its rules.
Really Large Numbers:
Numbers that are greater than 1000 can be written in another way by simply placing a dash over the symbol. The dash represents "❌1000". But these are not generally used.
How to Form Roman Numbers?
You might have noticed how we have emphasized on understanding the Roman Symbols and its Rules. Now let's see how it comes in handy! To construct a Roman Number, we need to break the number into Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands etc. and write down each in turn.
Example: Write 1983 in Roman Numerals.
Answer: Break 1983 into 1000, 900, 80 and 3 and then do the conversion.
1000 = M
900 = CM
80 = LXXX
3 = III
1000 + 900 + 80 + 3 = 1983. Therefore, 1983 in Roman Numbers = MCMLXXXIII
So Kids, we hope you understood this concept, it might take time to learn all this but you can practice, and as they say "Practice makes a Man Perfect". You will also be able to get it right in no time. Until we publish our next post, Bye-Bye, Keep Practicing!
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