1. ROMAN NUMERALS— THE BASICS
FIRST YOU NEED TO LEARN THE
BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE
ROMAN NUMERAL SYSTEM:--
THE 7 LETTERS THAT REPRESENT
NUMERICAL VALUES:
I=1 V=5 X=10
L=50 C=100 D=500
M=1,000

2. I=1

3. V=5

4. X=10

5. L=50
HALF
OF C!

6. C=100
The first letter
in the Latin word
for 100:
Centum!

7. D= 500 D sometimes looks like half of the M— the Latin for 1,000!
In carvings on buildings one can find
M as: and D as:

8. M=1,000
M IS FOR
THE FIRST LETTER
IN THE LATIN WORD
FOR 1,000:
MILLE!

9. On the Gloriette at Schoenbrunn in Vienna, Austria
MDCCLXXV=1775

10. NOW LET’S FIND OUT HOW TO BUILD WITH THOSE BLOCKS:
Roman numerals generally read
from left to right:
keep adding
from the larger to the smaller values,
similar to Arabic numerals!
III= VI= XI=11 XX=20
XVI= XXVI=26
326 = CCCXXVI

11. A CHANGE OCCURS HOWEVER IF YOU ENCOUNTER A LARGER NUMBER AS YOU MOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT — YOU THEN HAVE TO STOP: SUBTRACT THE SMALLER NUMBER FROM THE LARGER ONE THAT FOLLOWS. THIS ONLY OCCURS WHEN THE RESULTING VALUE IS 4 OR 9!

12. CMLXXII= CDLIX= LXXXIV=
IV=4 IX=9
XIV=14 XIX=19
XXIV=24 XXIX=29
XL=40 XLIX=49
CD=400 CM=900 SO
CCLI=? DCCC=? DXXVI=
BUT
CMLXXII= CDLIX= LXXXIV=

13. CCLI= DCCC=800
DXXVI=526
BUT
CMLXXII=972 CDLIX=459
LXXXIV=84

15. SEEN ENOUGH? WELL, ALSO:
TO REPRESENT LARGER NUMBERS THE ROMANS PUT A LINE OVER A ROMAN NUMERAL TO SIGNIFY MULTIPLICATION BY 1,000:
= 5,000!

16. Important dates in Roman history to remember:
DCCLIII BC—THE FOUNDING OF ROME
___________________________________
XLIV BC—THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR ON THE IDES OF MARCH
LXXIX AD—THE ERUPTION OF MT VESUVIUS THAT BURIED POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM
__________________________________

17. DCCLIII BC—THE FOUNDING OF ROME
XLIV BC—THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR ON THE IDES OF MARCH
44 BC
LXXIX AD—THE ERUPTION OF MT VESUVIUS THAT BURIED POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM
79 AD

18. Memorizing the “ROMAN NUMERAL RAP” may help you remember the seven building blocks:
I is one, V is five,
Whatchu mean, Latin’s not alive?
X is ten, L is fitty,
Roman numerals look so pretty!
C’s one hundred, D’s five hun’
Say it louder, make it fun:
Now M is a thousand, louder still—
Roman numerals on the one dollar bill:
MDCCLXXVI—FOURTH OF JULY!!!

19. WHAT DOES MDCCLXXVI STAND FOR?

20. 1776
THE
YEAR THE U.S.
……………………?

24. Write down your guesses before the next slide!

25. The Flintstones - First went to air in MCMLX
and continued being made until MCMLXVI
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - was released in
MCMLXXV
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) - first appeared
in MCMLXXXIV
Scooby Doo - The first episode,
'What a Night for a Knight'
went to air in MCMLXIX and is available on Youtube.
The Simpsons - first appeared April XIX, MCMLXXXVII
and has gone on to be
the longest running TV series in history.

26. I HOPE THAT RAPS UP THE ROMAN NUMERALS FOR YOU!!
Check out your activity packet and
my teacher webpage for practice!