PS 3218 2.10 Egyptian Numerals

Ancient Egyptian Numerals
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	These numerals are written in hyeroglyphic script. Ancient Egyptians also used hieratic script. In both cases, they wrote from right to left, as Arabs do today. Egyptians used different notation for their fractions (unit fractions). Click here to see a page on Egyptian fractions. Question 1 How do you multiply 33 by 76? Take 76 and double it and continue as follows: 33 ............................. 76 ---------------------------------- 1 ............................... 76 2 ...............................152 4 ...............................304 8 ............................. 608 16 ...........................1216 32 .......................... 2432 ======================= Stop doubling here as double of 32 = 64 which is greater than 33. Look at 2432 for 32 x 76 = 2432 so 33 x 76 = 2432 + 76 = 2508 Here multiplication is achieved by addition. Question 2. How do you divide 1210 by 55? Take 55 and add to itself as follows: 1 ...................................55 2 ..................................110 4 ..................................220 8 ...................................440 16................................. 880 ==================== We stop here as double 16 = 32 will have 1760 which is larger than 1210. To get 1210 = 880 + 220 + 110 means 16 + 4 + 2 = 22. Therefore 1210 /55 =22 Question 3. How do Egyptian divide 8 sacks of grains to 5 people? Give 1 sack of grain to each person (5 sacks taken with a remanider 3 sacks) divide 3 sacks into half (1/2 taken by each person remanining 1/2) Divide the 1/2 into 5 parts = 1/10 So each will get 1 + 1/2 + 1/10= 16/10 = 1 6/10						Topics on Egyptian mathematics Egyptian gods and mathematics Rhynd and Moscow Papiri Unit Fractions Eye of Horus Fractions Dyadic multiplication An Egyptian scribe from the Fourth Dynasty. The word scribe is applied to clerks, copyists and, more importantly, to the class of bureaucratic officials on whom the whole Egyptian system was based. They were an elite who passed their profession from father to son. Scribes were very powerful, or so we think now, as the popularity of the scribe statues overtakes popularity of any other statues apart from god forms.
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