Development of Numbers

Reporters & Editors:

Kenzhin Lorenzo & Ruzzel James Gloriane
What are numbers?
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original
examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. A written symbol like "5" that
represents a number is called a numeral. A numeral system is an organized way to write
and manipulate this type of symbol, for example the Hindu–Arabic numeral system allows
combinations of numerical digits like "5" and "0" to represent larger numbers like 50. A
numeral in linguistics can refer to a symbol like 5, the words or phrase that names a
number, like "five hundred", or other words that mean a specific number, like "dozen". In
addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels (as
with telephone numbers), for ordering (as with serial numbers), and for codes (as with
ISBNs). In common usage, number may refer to a symbol, a word or phrase, or the
mathematical object.
What is the study of numbers called?

Arithmetic (from the Greek arithmos) is a branch of mathematics that consists of the
study of numbers, especially the properties of the traditional operations on them—
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Arithmetic is an elementary part of
number theory, and number theory is considered to be one of the top-level divisions of
modern mathematics, along with algebra, geometry, and analysis. The terms arithmetic
and higher arithmetic were used until the beginning of the 20th century as synonyms for
number theory and are sometimes still used to refer to a wider part of number theory.
Where did numbers start?
Numbers should be distinguished from numerals, the symbols used to represent
numbers. The Egyptians invented the first ciphered numeral system, and the Greeks
followed by mapping their counting numbers onto Ionian and Doric alphabets. Roman
numerals, a system that used combinations of letters from the Roman alphabet,
remained dominant in Europe until the spread of the superior Hindu–Arabic numeral
system around the late 14th century, and the Hindu–Arabic numeral system remains the
most common system for representing numbers in the world today. The key to the
effectiveness of the system was the symbol for zero, which was developed by ancient
Indian mathematicians around 500 AD.
Here are all the types of number
according to Wikipedia
Main Types:
Natural numbers (N): The counting numbers {1, 2, 3, ...} are commonly called natural numbers; however, other definitions
include 0, so that the non-negative integers {0, 1, 2, 3, ...} are also called natural numbers.
Integers (Z): Positive and negative counting numbers, as well as zero: {..., −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.
Rational numbers (Q): Numbers that can be expressed as a ratio of an integer to a non-zero integer.[3] All integers are
rational, but the converse is not true.
Real numbers (R): Numbers that can represent a distance along a line. They can be positive, negative, or zero. All rational
numbers are real, but the converse is not true.
Irrational numbers (I): Real numbers that are not rational.
Imaginary numbers: Numbers that equal the product of a real number and the square root of −1. The number 0 is both
real and imaginary.
Complex numbers (C): Includes real numbers, imaginary numbers, and sums and differences of real and imaginary
numbers.
Hypercomplex numbers include various number-system extensions: quaternions (H), octonions (O), sedenions (S),
tessarines, coquaternions, and biquaternions. p-adic numbers: Various number systems constructed using limits of rational
numbers, according to notions of "limit" different from the one used to construct the real numbers.
Number representations:
Decimal: The standard Hindu–Arabic numeral system using base ten.
Binary: The base-two numeral system used by computers.
Hexadecimal: Widely used by computer system designers and programmers, as they provide a more human-friendly
representation of binary-coded values.
Octal: Occasionally used by computer system designers and programmers.
Duodecimal: The most convenient numeral system, due to twelve's divisibility by a wide range of the most elemental
numbers {1, 2, 3, 4}.
Sexagesimal: Originated with the ancient Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC, was passed down to the ancient
Babylonians
(See positional notation for information on other bases)
Roman numerals: The numeral system of ancient Rome, still occasionally used today.
Fractions: A representation of a non-integer as a ratio of two integers. These include improper fractions as well as mixed
numbers.
Continued fraction: An expression obtained through an iterative process of representing a number as the sum of its integer
part and the reciprocal of another number, then writing this other number as the sum of its integer part and another
reciprocal, and so on.
Scientific notation: A method for writing very small and very large numbers using powers of 10. When used in science,
such a number also conveys the precision of measurement using significant figures.
Knuth's up-arrow notation, Conway chained arrow notation, and Bowers's operators : Notations that allow the concise
representation of some extremely large integers such as Graham's number.
Signed Numbers:
Positive numbers: Real numbers that are greater than zero.
Negative numbers: Real numbers that are less than zero. Because zero itself has no sign, neither the positive numbers nor
the negative numbers include zero. When zero is a possibility, the following terms are often used:
Non-negative numbers: Real numbers that are greater than or equal to zero. Thus a non-negative number is either zero or
positive.
Non-positive numbers: Real numbers that are less than or equal to zero. Thus a non-positive number is either zero or
negative.

Types of Integers:
Even and odd numbers: An integer is even if it is a multiple of two, and is odd otherwise.
Prime number: An integer with exactly two positive divisors: itself and 1. The primes form an infinite sequence 2, 3, 5, 7,
11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, ...
Composite number: A number that can be factored into a product of smaller integers. Every integer greater than one is
either prime or composite.
Polygonal numbers: These are numbers that can be represented as dots that are arranged in the shape of a regular
polygon, including Triangular numbers, Square numbers, Pentagonal numbers, Hexagonal numbers, Heptagonal numbers,
Octagonal numbers, Nonagonal numbers, Decagonal numbers, Hendecagonal numbers, and Dodecagonal numbers.
Algebraic Numbers:
Algebraic number: Any number that is the root of a non-zero polynomial with rational coefficients.
Transcendental number: Any real or complex number that is not algebraic. Examples include e and π.
Trigonometric number: Any number that is the sine or cosine of a rational multiple of pi.
Quadratic surd: An algebraic number that is the root of a quadratic equation. Such a number can be expressed as the sum
of a rational number and the square root of a rational.
Constructible number: A number representing a length that can be constructed using a compass and straightedge. These
are a subset of the algebraic numbers, and include the quadratic surds.
Algebraic integer: An algebraic number that is the root of a monic polynomial with integer coefficients.

Non-Standard Numbers:
Transfinite numbers: Numbers that are greater than any natural number.
Ordinal numbers: Finite and infinite numbers used to describe the order type of well-ordered sets.
Cardinal numbers: Finite and infinite numbers used to describe the cardinalities of sets.
Infinitesimals: Nilpotent numbers. These are smaller than any positive real number, but are nonetheless greater than zero.
These were used in the initial development of calculus, and are used in synthetic differential geometry.
Hyperreal numbers: The numbers used in non-standard analysis. These include infinite and infinitesimal numbers which
possess certain properties of the real numbers.
Surreal numbers: A number system that includes the hyperreal numbers as well as the ordinals. The surreal numbers are
the largest possible ordered field.
Computability and Definability:
Computable number: A real number whose digits can be computed using an algorithm.
Definable number: A real number that can be defined uniquely using a first-order formula with one free variable in
the language of set theory.
Conclusion
In conclusion the development of numbers goes way back to 500 A.D which two
Indian Mathematicians made the numbers 1-9. The Egyptians actually made the first ciphered
numeral system while the Greeks followed by mapping it. Today there are different types of
numbers Signed and Integers. Today it is said that numbers are infinite and can be infinitely
expandable by the human mind.