Math Is Fun Forum

martian

Member

Registered: 2005-11-21

Posts: 14

Poll: thousand million = billion?

Although I cant seem to do actual polls on this forum, you can still post and give your thoughts.

???????????????????????????????????????????

Should "one billion" be equal to a "one thousand million" (1,000,000,000) or "one million million"(1,000,000,000,000)

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I believe in the billion = "one million million" rule
and trillion = "one billion billion"
quadillion = "one trillion trillion"
etc...

iluvOLI4eva

Member

Registered: 2005-11-07

Posts: 66

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

hi

Jai Ganesh

Administrator

Registered: 2005-06-28

Posts: 48,389

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

In US:-
1,000,000 = One Million
1,000,000,000 = One Billion
1,000,000,000,000 = One Trillion and so on.
In UK,
1,000,000 = One Million
1,000,000,000,000 = One Billion
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = One Trillion

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It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.

-S@m-

Member

Registered: 2005-11-22

Posts: 3

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

hi

Moving along....

The correct term for a thousand million is a milliard.
However, this has never actually caught on for reasons that are beyond me.

The "American" system seems to have become standard.
Not only is it easier for people who are less mathematically inclined to use,
it also makes profits sound bigger. ;-)

Although they are usually referred to as the American and British numeration systems,
both were actually invented by the French.

I, for one, believe that it should only advance to the higher "term" when it becomes
necessary to repeat a particular term twice in a row.

That is:
100,000 = One hundred thousand
1,000,000 = One thousand thousand = One million
1,000,000,000 = One thousand million
1,000,000,000,000 = One million million = One Billion
10 ^ 100 = Ten thousand quintillion

Jai Ganesh

Administrator

Registered: 2005-06-28

Posts: 48,389

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

No, 10^100 = Gogool
10^33 = Decillion
10^63 = Vigintillion
10^303 = Centillion
10^Gogool = Gogoolplex.

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It appears to me that if one wants to make progress in mathematics, one should study the masters and not the pupils. - Niels Henrik Abel.

Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge - Stephen William Hawking.

mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

Whenever ganesh said gogool, he meant googol.

10^googolplex = googolplexian

I believe that 1 million is 10^6, 1 billion is 10^12, 1 trillion is 10^18 and so on, adding another 6 to the power for every 'illion' level. So I would say ganesh's non-googoly numbers were 10^60, 10^120 and 10^600.

S@m and martian's system would involve lots of long numbers, such as 1 million billion trillion quadrillion etc. whereas in the generally accepted system the maximum you would have to say is 1 hundred thousand ...illion.

Last edited by mathsyperson (2005-11-22 06:57:59)

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Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

ryos

Member

Registered: 2005-08-04

Posts: 394

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

Add six...pschaw. Add three!

10^6 = million
10^9 = billion
10^12 = trillion

Why, you say? Because it fits with the SI system's tendency to add 10^3 to its incremental units. And it's easier to say that a "Gigawatt" is a billion watts than it is to call it a thousand million (which doesn't quite make sense).

Or it could be because I'm American, and refuse to say "colour".

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El que pega primero pega dos veces.

mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

The UK system is easier because to find out what power of 10 it is, you just multiply the ...illion prefix by 6. Also, with the US one you run out of numbers quicker. 10^600 is a centillion in UK, but the US system would have to call it an octillion decillion vigintillion vigintillion vigintillion vigintillion centillion, or something.

Also, why does everyone keep saying pschaw?

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Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.

martian

Member

Registered: 2005-11-21

Posts: 14

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

Thats why I prefer the UK system.

However. I looks like my dreams of making the UK system the universal system is dimishing. The US system is becoming more and more universal. If theres one good point about the US system. It doesn't take a long time to say some of the bigger numbers which dont exacty fall on a nice "power of 6" or somthing.

ryos

Member

Registered: 2005-08-04

Posts: 394

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

The UK system is easier because to find out what power of 10 it is, you just multiply the ...illion prefix by 6.

"I don't know what that means...but you still smell like pea soup..."

(The pea soup thing's not an insult, it's a culture reference. And I don't know what it means. )

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El que pega primero pega dos veces.

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,713

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

Pea Soup ... ? How about fhqwhgads!

I think that the internationally accepted version is by 10^3

10^6 = million
10^9 = billion
etceteretera ...

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"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

justlookingforthemoment

Moderator

Registered: 2005-05-26

Posts: 2,161

Re: Poll: thousand million = billion?

I use the variations that MathsIsFun said. Now, etceteretera... nice word, Rod.