A Story of Numbers — StepsLabs Experiment Bay

Grade 8 — Evolution of Number Systems & Place Value

Evolution of Number Systems

~44,000 years ago

Lebombo Bone

Tally marks on bone — one of the oldest mathematical artefacts found in South Africa.

~20,000–35,000 years ago

Ishango Bone

Notches arranged in columns, possibly indicating early calendrical systems (Congo).

~3000 BCE

Egyptian Number System

Base-10 system using hieroglyphics. Landmark numbers: 1, 10, 100, 1000, ...

~2000 BCE

Mesopotamian (Babylonian) System

Base-60 (sexagesimal) with place value notation. Still seen in 60 minutes / 60 seconds.

~8th century BCE

Roman Numerals

Landmark numbers: I(1), V(5), X(10), L(50), C(100), D(500), M(1000).

3rd–10th century CE

Mayan Number System

Base-20 with a twist (360 as 3rd landmark). Used a shell symbol for zero.

By 3rd century CE

Chinese Rod Numerals

Decimal system with alternating Zong (vertical) and Heng (horizontal) symbols.

~200 BCE onwards

Hindu / Indian Number System

Base-10 place value system with digits 0–9. Zero as both placeholder and number. Spread worldwide.

The Five Big Ideas

🔢

Idea 1

Count in groups of a single number

🏛️

Idea 2

Group using landmark numbers

⚡

Idea 3

Powers of a number = the idea of a base

📍

Idea 4

Position = place value system

0️⃣

Idea 5

Zero as digit and as a number

🌍

Result

The Hindu number system we use today

Roman Numeral Converter

I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1000

Roman Arithmetic

Try These

Base Converter

A base-n system uses landmark numbers: n⁰, n¹, n², n³, ...

Decimal =

Base =

Landmark Numbers Generator

Base n =

Base Presets

Hindu Number System — Place Value Breakdown

375 = 3 × 10² + 7 × 10¹ + 5 × 10⁰

Compare Number Systems

The Power of Zero

In a place value system, zero acts as a placeholder. Without it, 302 and 32 would look the same!

Roman to Hindu

MMCCXXII =

Base-5 Representation

137 in base-5 =

Place Value

In 5642, the digit 6 is in the ______ place.

Scientific / Expanded Form

172 = 1×10² + 7×10¹ + 2×10⁰. True or False?

The Magical Pond (from Power Play)

Lotuses double every day. Pond fully covered on Day 30. When was it half covered?

Day =