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What Are the Different Types of Abacus?

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nathan gilbert
What Are the Different Types of Abacus?

Using abacus tools to perform simple calculations is recommended after you begin learning in Abacus online classes. Children are encouraged to perform more mental calculations that require cognitive function, visualization, attention and comprehension as they progress.


The abacus was widely used in ancient times for various tasks by merchants, business people, currency counters and dealers. On the other hand, abacus tools are used for a variety of applications in today's environment. It is kept as a cultural relic, practised and promoted in the classroom to help with quick calculations.


Let's take a quick look at the different types of abacus used in abacus classes UK:


The Suanpan Abacus


Its footprint dates back to 190 CE in history books, during the Eastern Han dynasty. Since then, the Chinese Abacus has been using it for elementary mathematics. It's used across China to teach primary students; speed maths. It was mandatory for accountants and financial managers until 2004. Modern China rarely uses abacuses.

Typically, the Suanpan is 20 cm tall and has two segments: the upper beads (heaven beads) and the lower beads (earth beads). It's fragmented by a unit pointing rod. There are two upper beads and five below. The modern Chinese Abacus has 4+1 beads. The rightmost bead is 1, then 100, 1000, 10000, etc.


The Soroban Abacus


The Soroban abacus is the Japanese abacus. Soroban's structure is inspired by the Chinese Suanpan Abacus and its number of beads by the Roman Abacus. In the 14th century, China introduced the Soroban abacus to Japan. 13 rods comprise a conventional abacus. Rod arrangements can be 7,9,11,13,15,17...31 or more. Wood, metal and bamboo are its common components.


Bead arrangement distinguishes the soroban from the Suanpan. Upper rods have one bead, whereas lower rods have four. Japanese abacuses are 1:4. Other abacus are 2:5 and 3:5. Anzan is usually learned after the abacus in Japan and is used for rapid calculations.


The Roman Abacus


Romans used multiple tools to calculate. Human calculators rang pebbles. Gerbertd'Aurillac introduced Roman Abacus in the 11th century (Pope Sylvester II). Later, the abacus was made portable with eight grooves of rhythms and tracks.


The Sumerian Abacus


Between 2700 and 2300 BC, the Sumerian Abacus was developed. A single frame with several columns is divided into 60 bases by beads.


The Indian Abacus


Prehistoric texts show that Indians have used ekanka and vartik to calculate. In India, primary students use abacuses. Today's Indian Abacus is similar to those in China and Japan. Standard abacus tool has 17 rods making it more portable.


Schoty or The Russian Abacus


Russian abacus, called Schoty, counts beads. It was created in the 17th century to improve business and currency calculations. Wood or metal creates the Schoty frame. The eighth row includes only four beads, and every fifth bead is a different colour. It has no columns and different-coloured Schoty beads.


The Cranmer Abacus


Terence. V. Cranmer designed the Cranmer abacus in 1962. Soroban inspired Cranmer abacus. The Cranmer abacus was created for visually impaired persons to accomplish addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Cranmer abacus has fabric cushioned white beats, so beads don't move. Parallel rods are installed in the rectangular black frame's top and bottom sections. The upper part features one white bead and the bottom four.


Enroll in the best abacus classes and start learning abacus for quicker calculations everywhere.


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