Difference between revisions of "Janine Baranski"
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==Wiki Entry #1: Chinese Abacus== | ==Wiki Entry #1: Chinese Abacus== | ||
| − | The Chinese abacus or the | + | The Chinese abacus or the suan-pan was first documented around 1200 A.D. It, like all abaci, was created to help with calculations. An abacus is a mechanical aid for counting and is therefore not a calculator but very useful nonetheless. An abacus is made of a wooden frame with a upper and lower deck separated by a horizontal beam. Vertical poles run from top to bottom through this beam. Beads, used for counting, are located on these poles and can be slid up or down on them. The Chinese abacus differs from other abaci because of the distribution of its beads. The suan-pan is a 2/5 abacus. This means that there are two beads in the upper deck and five in the lower. The beads in the upper deck have a value of 5 and the beads of the lower deck have a value of 1. When using a Chinese abacus one uses the thumb to slide a bead in the lower deck up and the index finger to slide it down. The middle finger is used to move beads in the upper deck. |
'''Works Cited''' | '''Works Cited''' | ||
Fernandes, L. (2012, August 11). Abacus. Retrieved from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/ | Fernandes, L. (2012, August 11). Abacus. Retrieved from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/ | ||
Revision as of 17:45, 21 May 2012
Wiki Entry #1: Chinese Abacus
The Chinese abacus or the suan-pan was first documented around 1200 A.D. It, like all abaci, was created to help with calculations. An abacus is a mechanical aid for counting and is therefore not a calculator but very useful nonetheless. An abacus is made of a wooden frame with a upper and lower deck separated by a horizontal beam. Vertical poles run from top to bottom through this beam. Beads, used for counting, are located on these poles and can be slid up or down on them. The Chinese abacus differs from other abaci because of the distribution of its beads. The suan-pan is a 2/5 abacus. This means that there are two beads in the upper deck and five in the lower. The beads in the upper deck have a value of 5 and the beads of the lower deck have a value of 1. When using a Chinese abacus one uses the thumb to slide a bead in the lower deck up and the index finger to slide it down. The middle finger is used to move beads in the upper deck.
Works Cited
Fernandes, L. (2012, August 11). Abacus. Retrieved from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/
