QUESTION 4
Easy
Ancient Indians used the joints of their fingers to count, a practice still seen today. Each finger has 3 joints, and the thumb is used to count them. How many can you count on one hand? How does this relate to the ancient base-12 counting systems?
SOLUTION
On one hand, there are four fingers, each having three joints.
4 fingers × 3 = 12
So in total we can count upto 12 on one hand.
The ancient base-12 counting system, known as duodecimal system, uses twelve as its base instead of ten.
4 fingers × 3 = 12
So in total we can count upto 12 on one hand.
The ancient base-12 counting system, known as duodecimal system, uses twelve as its base instead of ten.