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Roman numerals are a numeral system originating from Ancient Rome and were considered the usual way of writing numbers across Europe until the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations from the Latin alphabet. Today, the modern system for writing Roman numerals uses only seven characters:
| I | V | X | L | C | D | M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 10 | 50 | 100 | 500 | 1000 |
Usage of Roman numerals still continued to be more common from after the decline of the Roman Empire until the 14th century when they were replaced by Arabic numerals. However, this process was gradual and usage has still persisted. For example, the numbers on the clock of Big Ben (designed in 1852), the hours from 1 to 12 are written like this:
- I
- II
- III
- IV
- V
- VI
- VII
- VIII
- IX
- X
- XI
- XII
Classic Question: How can 4 be half of 5?
Workspace:
4: IV
5: V
Take the I from IV (4)
The result is the Roman Numeral for 5: V
Fractions