Janine Baranski

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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.

Works Cited

Fernandes, L. (2012, August 11). Abacus. Retrieved from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/