Abacus calculator

Step 1

Familiarize yourself with the layout of the Chinese abacus which has several columns of beads that are separated by a crossbar.

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The five beads below the crossbar represent one unit each, while the two beads above the crossbar represent five units each. The beads that you push against the bar will represent the numbers that you are calculating.

Step 2

Understand that each column has a decimal value attached to it.

The first column on the right represents a decimal value of one, i.e. digits from 1 to 9; the second, ten decimals; the third, hundred decimals; and so on.

Step 3

Set the abacus at "zero" or "start" mode by moving all the beads away from the crossbar.

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If a bead is positioned near the crossbar or towards it, it implies that the abacus has been activated and has a value.

Step 4

Add numbers on the abacus by registering them on the beads in the same straight-forward left-to-right sequence that you would write them in.

To add 6+2, move one bead down from the first column situated above the crossbar which represents five units. Move one bead up

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