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Article: Abacus Arithmetic.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Appleseeds
- Article date:
- April 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Quick, add 23 to 16. Can't do it in your head? Don't have a pencil and paper? Why not use your abacus? An abacus is an ancient device that can be used to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and to make other calculations. It is all done by moving beads, and the calculations can be done at an unbelievably fast speed.
In China, an abacus is called a suanpan. How does a suanpan work? Columns of beads, which stand for numbers, are strung on rods, usually with two beads above and five beads below a crossbar. Each upper bead stands for five units, and each lower bead stands for one unit. You slide the beads along the rod toward the crossbar as you count. Each rod ...