I. Digital introduction
Arabic numerals are now commonly used in the world. It was first invented by ancient Indians, then spread to Europe by Arabs, and then modernized by Europeans. Because of the spread of Arabs, it has become a key node in the international use of such numbers, so people call it "Arabic numerals".
Arabic numerals consist of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 * * * 10 counting symbols. Take the position value method, the high position is on the left, the low position is on the right, and the writing is from left to right. With the help of some simple mathematical symbols (decimal point, minus sign, percent sign, etc. ), this system can clearly represent all rational numbers. In order to express extremely large or extremely small numbers, people have created scientific notation on the basis of Arabic numerals.
Second, the origin of numbers
As early as primitive times, people noticed the difference in the number of one sheep and many sheep, one wolf and the whole pack of wolves in production activities, and the concept of quantity gradually came into being with the passage of time. The formation of the concept of number may be as old as the use of fire, about 300 thousand years ago, which is as important to human civilization as the use of fire. At the earliest time, people used ten fingers to count, when fingers were not enough.
People began to use "stone number", "knot number" and "notch number". After tens of thousands of years of development, it was not until about 5,000 years ago that the writing and counting system appeared. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics around 3400 BC; Babylonian cuneiform around 2400 BC; The number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in China around 1600 BC; Greek Attica numbers around 500 BC.
Around 500 BC, China had a plan to calculate numbers; Indian Brahman statue around 300 BC and Maya statue of unknown age. These numeration systems use different decimal systems, among which Babylonian cuneiform numerals use sexagesimal, Mayan numerals use decimal system, and others use decimal system. The appearance of counting system has made human civilization take a big step forward. With the continuous development of productive forces and the continuous improvement of figures, mathematics has gradually developed.