The roman script It is one of the oldest scriptures known to man today and, as a society, we have used it in an endless number of situations, generally making use of it. roman number system to enumerate objects or express past years.
Despite the fact that Roman numerals are present in many places, such as the numbering of the 21st century, there are those who do not know how to interpret them. In this article we will explain a little about it, focusing on the roman numeral LXXII!
What number is LXXII?
Before delving into the subject of Roman numerals, it is important to know what those numbers that we see daily are called, which are known as “natural numbers” in Arabic or Arabic numbers.
Arabic numerals are represented by symbols whose value rises depending on the combination that is made with them. Although we know symbols by their shapes, such as the dollar ($) or percentage (%), Arabic numerals are also considered “symbols”. In this way, these are composed of the following symbols:
- 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9which together form the decimal system that we know so much
On the other hand are the Roman numerals which, unlike the Arabic ones, are made up of letters and the value of each one goes up in multiples of five. Roman numerals are formed with the following letters:
- I, V, X, L, C, D and Mand its values in Arabic would correspond to 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000.
The Roman number system has its own rules for writing and/or conversion to Arabic numerals, among which we can name the following:
- Identify each letter or symbol used in the Roman numeral and assign it the value that corresponds to it.
- Take into account the major letter position in the figure and determine which letters are on its sides.
- letters or symbols are written in descending order, that is, from largest to smallest. If a letter of great value has to its right a letter of lesser value, adds. If, on the contrary, a number has a letter of lesser value to its left, this is subtracted.
Unlike Arabic numerals, Roman numerals do not use negative or decimal representations, so conversions are limited to integer numbers.
With these rules, convert roman numeral LXXI to arabic numerals It will be simple, since, if you notice, at the beginning of the number we have a larger number, which is “L” (whose value is 50); on its right side are two “x” (each equals 10), which when added together give a result of 20; and, finally, we have that the “Yo” equals 1.
In this way, when performing the fraction or addition with the use of the calculator, we obtain that “XX” equals 20 and “XXI” would be 21.
- The value of Roman numeral LXXI would be equal to 71since the value of “L” (50) is added to that of “XXI” (21).
Keep in mind that by following these rules you can convert any roman numeral to their equivalent figures in Arabic and, in this way, you will be able to transform from small numbers, such as XXI, to large numbers, such as MCDLXXXIX.
