The abacus is an instrument invented more than 3 thousand years ago by the Chinese to facilitate calculations.
It is made up of parallel wires and beads or sliding washers, which according to their position, represents the quantity to be worked, contains 2 sets per wire, 5 beads in the set of units and 2 beads representing 5 units. It was spreading throughout society.
The Japanese abacus is known as SOROBAN and, from the Russians, TSCHOTY.
In the past, a person who handled an abacus with agility could perform a 5-digit multiplication as quickly as a person does today using a digital calculator.
Currently, many traders in some regions of Asia still use this instrument.
On the abacus, the calculation begins on the left, or in the highest column involved in its calculation. Work from left to right. By operating this way, the calculation can be started as soon as you know the first digit.
In mental or written arithmetic, the calculation starts from the units or right-hand side of the problem.
