These labels show the location of units, tens, thousands, millions, etc. There are special signs on the frame of the abacus – in the form of black, white, or colored dots (their color depends on the color of the abacus itself). The top bead is called the sky bead and equals five ground beads. The four lower beads are called ground beads, and each represents a unit. An abacus with many strings can operate large numbers or two smaller numbers at the same time.Įach string holds 5 beads, with the top bead of each string being separated from the rest four beads with a frame. The abacus usually has 13 strings, but larger abacuses can be found with 21, 23, 27, or even 31 strings. The number positions are numerated from the end of the number and are situated in the following way: hundreds – tens – units.

DeviceĪn abacus consists of an odd number of vertical strings. It looked like a small box of a prolonged shape divided into unequal parts lengthwise with boards and sticks with beads on them were placed crosswise. Its original name was Suan-Pan and it was based on a different counting principle.

The creation of a device that resembles a modern abacus is attributed to the inhabitants of ancient China. According to historical records, this type of abacus was used for arithmetic operations in ancient cultures like Greece, Rome, India, Egypt, and many others. Back in old days for an abacus people used a table or a wooden board covered in dust or sand so that lines could be drawn on it with a stick.Īccording to another version, the creator of the abacus was the ancient Greek scientist called Abak, after whom the abacus was named after. According to some sources, such a board first appeared in Mesopotamia (Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) about the 4th century BC. There are several versions of the origin of the abacus. In modern times, abacuses are used to teach elementary school children to count because this method is preferable pedagogically over electronic calculators and written calculations. However, the counting methods such as mental arithmetic became widespread again. Over time, with the emergence of new modern devices, the use of the abacus has been pushed back, giving way to modern calculators. The idea of this type of calculator is to have a special field for calculations, where the elements that represent numbers (for example, balls or rocks) are placed and moved according to a certain model. To this day, an abacus could be called any object that can be used to perform arithmetic calculations in the decimal system.

as they contained objects that denoted numbers, such as rocks (for example). One furrow served for units, the other one served for tens, thousands, etc. Originally, it presented a clay plate with furrows where small stones were put to indicate digits. Abacus or abac (from Greek – calculation board) is a device used for arithmetic calculations, invented centuries BC. Some of you are probably wondering what is an abacus? How can it be used for complex arithmetic calculations? Read this article to learn more about the abacus and its history. The abacus is one of the main tools used in mental arithmetic classes.

Abacus beads meaning