Base 5 Calculation

Table of Contents
        PREFACE iii
1. Introduction 1
2. What is base 5 number 1
3. How to read a Multiplication TABLE 2
4. How to read an Addition TABLE 3
5. Process of multiplying two base 5 number 3
APPENDIX A: LIST OF FIGURES 6
APPENDIX B: REFERENCE PAGE 6

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PREFACE
Thanks the help of my professor Nancy Acemian   and the students who contribute their ideas when I write this instruction.
Wenjun zhu
February 2008

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1. Introduction

In reality, people use base 10 numbers quite often in different fields, such as shopping, calculation. However, a few people hear about base 5 number which is quite similar to base 10 number in the calculation. This set of instruction is to explain what is base 5 number and how to multiply a 3-digit positive base 5 number by a 2-digit positive base 5 number.

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2. What is base 5 number
Base 5 numbers are the representation of quantity with symbols which are written using only 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 digits.

3. How to read a Multiplication Table
Let’s understand how to read the Base 5 multiplication TABLE. This table is quite similar to the regular decimals multiplication table. Grey shade cells of the first row and first column are operands .The blue shade cell is the operation. In this case, the operation is multiplication. White shade cells are results which store the answer of two operands. Light red shade cell is the sample. Please see in Figure 3-1.
x 0 1 2 3 4
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 2 3 4
2 0 2 4 11 13
3 0 3 11 14 22
4 0 4 13 22 31

Figure 3-1 Multiplication Table
For example:
2 × 4 = 13    
Here you look at 2 and go across the row, then look at four and go down the column. Where they intersect, that is the answer.

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4. How to read an Addition Table
+ 0 1 2 3 4
0 0 1 2 3 4
1 1 2 3 4 10
2 2 3 4 10 11
3 3 4 10 11 12
4 4 10 11 12 13

Figure 4-1 Addition Table
The rule to read figure 4-1 is the same as   to read the figure 3-1.
For example:
2 + 4 =... [continues]

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