Ancient and Modern Number Systems: From Babylon to Hexadecimal

In this course we will trace the history of number systems, how they were developed and what purpose they served in their civilizations.  For each number system we will look at base, symbols, positional representation, and place value.  Students will learn to read and write numbers in each numeric system, as well as basic operations such as addition and subtraction.

Week 1: Ancient Babylon.  The Babylonians have one of the earliest number systems with only 2 symbols and a base of 60.  In what ways do they still influence our number use today?

Week 2: Ancient Egypt.  We know a lot about Egyptian writing, what about their mathematics?  They were one of the first civilizations to use fractions.  We will learn how their concept of fractions functioned.

Week 3: Roman Numerals.  We still see Roman numerals around us on everything from watches to buildings.  How did the system work, and why isn't it still used?

Week 4: Binary and Hexadecimal.  Early computers used binary code, while more sophisticated computers used hexadecimal.  We will learn to convert to both these systems and talk about the evolution of their use in sending information.

Week 5: Number Masters.  We will put together everything we have learned about these number systems and practice converting numbers between systems, as well as adding and subtracting.