Numbers and Mathematics

Question: What do we call the counting system that uses only 0 and 1?

Answer: The binary system uses only two digits, 0 and 1.

Question: What is the numbering system used most often in counting and arithmetic?

Answer: The decimal system uses 10 digits that can be combined to form larger numbers. When a number is written down, each of the digits represents a different power of 10.

Question: The metric system is based on multiples of what number?

Answer: The metric system is based on multiples of 10. For example, 1,000 millimeters equal one meter, and 1,000 meters equal one kilometer.

Question: Which country was the first to use the metric system of measurement?

Answer: France inaugurated the metric system of measurement in 1795. Its neighbors, Belgium and Luxembourg, adopted it in 1820, and other countries followed thereafter.

Question: What is the name of an early calculator?

Answer: Long before the invention of the electronic calculator or the computer, people counted and did calculations with a device called an abacus.

Question: Which of the following is not a term used in geometry?

Answer: An angle describes the relationship between two intersecting lines. A triangle has three angles and sides, a pentagon has five.

Question: What part of a gram is a centigram?

Answer: A centigram is one one-hundredth of a gram.

Question: What is a device used to work with numbers called?

Answer: A calculator is a tool that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides numbers. It is used to help us solve mathematical problems.

Question: What is the equivalent, in Fahrenheit, of 100 degrees centigrade?

Answer: The Fahrenheit scale of measurement puts the freezing point of water at 32 degrees and its boiling point at 212 degrees.

Question: Who invented the Pythagorean theorem of right triangles?

Answer: Pythagoras (c. 580–500 BCE) is credited with developing the Pythagorean theorem of right triangles (a squared plus b squared equals c squared).