Why 360?

Sunday, October 4, 2009
So the big question is why 360? Well you can ask the Babylonians. They used a Sexagesimal system. A Sexagesimal system is a numeral system with 60 as the base instead of 10, which we now use. We go up to 9 and add a 1 in front of 0. They went up to 59 and added a 6 in front of a zero. Also we use 60 a lot. 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes in a hour.

The Babylonians made a calender based on 360 days, because they believed the earth made a complete rotation in 360 days. In result came 360 degrees making a full circle.

1 comments:

Lissa 9-05 said...

Great work Simran! I like your post and how you bolded the important word "Sexagesimal System".

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