Roman Numerals - Rules, Chart | What Are Roman Numbers?

While you think about numericals currently, the first of all that comes to mind is the decimal method we utilize regularly. This method, however, is not the single approach to represent numbers. There are a lot of approaches utilized by various cultures all over the world that use all types of characters. One such system is Roman numbers.

Since ancient Rome, Roman numerals have been a method of writing numericals utilizing a combination of characters from the Latin alphabet. It remained during the Middle Ages and the modern day, to the extend it is still educated in school, that is perhaps why you have stumbled upon this post.

Now, we are gonna to walkthrough Roman numerals, what they are, how they function, and how to transform Roman numbers to regular numbers.

What Are Roman Numerals?

First, let's look at a brief look at the history of Roman numerals. Roman numericals were first used by the ancient Romans, as you may have guessed from the name. They were used in several angles of the Roman world, consisting of trade, architecture, and even warfare.

Presently, its extensive use is primarily because of its aesthetic reasons. You may have seen Roman numerals as hour marks on a clock, chapter numbers, page numbering, copyright dates, or in movie sequels (e.g., The Godfather Part III).

The Roman numeral approach consist of numericals utilizing a blend of letters from the Latin alphabet. Letters are mixed to make groups that portray numbers. Seven characters, I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, symbolizes the numbers 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000, separately. You can then blend these numericals to portray any value in the numerical system.

Meaning of the Roman numerals

Although the decimal system is established on the concept of place value, Roman numerals are based on additive and subtractive principles. This states that a Roman numeral's numeric values are founded on the sum of the values of its particular parts. One more key difference is that the decimal method is based on the number 10. In contrast, Roman numerals are based on the numbers 1 (I), 5 (V) and 10 (X).

Examples

Let's check out a few practical examples of Roman numerals.

The video game street fighter IV was released in arcades back in 2008. If we observe the numericals in the name, we see it has a V in it. This is because the number 5 in Roman numerals is described by the alphabet V. Preceded by it is an I, or 1. Hence, we understand that this is the 4th to enter in the series employing the properties we will talk about further ahead.

The film Star Wars Episode VI was the latest to enter the original trilogy. Observing the value described, it includes a V ensued by an I. Thus, we will add a 1 to the value of V, that is 5, comprehending this Star Wars movie is the 6th to enter the series.

Roman Numerals Chart

To read Roman numbers, it is essential to know the numeric value of all the letters. To assist you make this function easy, here is a chart with every Latin letters with assigned numeric values.

How to Transform from Roman Numerals to Everyday Numericals

Since we have the handy table of Roman numbers, we can utilize that data to transform numbers back and forth simply. Following these steps, you will transform these values any time you want.

Steps to Convert Roman numbers to Everyday Numbers

To change Roman numbers to everyday numbers, we will use the linear and subtractive principles we discussed.

• Start at the leftmost Roman numerical in the group.

• If the Roman numeral to its right is lesser in value, then add the both values.

• If the Roman numerical to its right is higher in value, subtract the Roman numeral on the right from the Roman numbers to its left.

• All you should do now is repeat this method until you arrive at the end of the Roman number group.

Let's see how you can convert Roman numbers with a few examples.

Example 1

Study the Roman numeral LXXVI.

• Initiate with the leftmost Roman number, that is L or 50.

• The Roman number to its right is X or 10. Since 10 is lesser than 50, we sum the two values and get 60.

• The Roman number to the right of X is X again. We sum 10 to 60 and find 70.

• The Roman number to the right of X is V or 5. Because 5 is less than 70, we add the both values and get 75.

• The Roman numeral to the right of V is I or 1. Because 1 is less than 75, we sum the two values and get 76.

We halt here at the end of the Roman numeral group. Therefore, the Roman number LXXVI is equal to the decimal number 76.

Example 2

Study the Roman numeral MCMIII.

• Initiate with the leftmost Roman number, that is M or 1000.

• The Roman numeral to its right is C or 100. Since 100 is less than 1000, and it is followed by an M, this value stands at 900.

• The Roman numeral to the right of M is I or 1. Because 1 is less than 1900, we sum the two values and the result is 1901.

• The Roman numeral to the right of I is I again. We sum 1 to 1901 and get 1902.

• The Roman number to the right of I is I again. We add 1 to 1902 and we find 1903.

Because we have reached the end of the Roman numeral group, we halt here with our answer. Therefore, the Roman numeral MCMIII is equal to the decimal number 1903.

With this knowledge and a little practice, you will transform Roman numerals to regular numbers like a pro!

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