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The Heaven Bead
Lesson 3 of 20
Five
Heaven bead down = 5
Tap to hear the number!
The heaven bead is worth 5. Push it down toward the beam to activate it. For numbers 6-9, combine the heaven bead with earth beads: 6 = 5+1, 7 = 5+2, 8 = 5+3, 9 = 5+4.
Try the Abacus! 🧮
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Learn the Numbers 🔢
Set the Number! 🎯
Set this number on the abacus:
5
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Why 5?
The soroban uses 5 because we have 5 fingers on each hand! Ancient calculators were inspired by counting on fingers. The heaven bead represents a full hand (5), and earth beads represent individual fingers.
Quiz Time! 📝
How do you show 8 on the abacus?
🎯 Learning Objectives
- ✓Understand the heaven bead represents 5
- ✓Set numbers 5 through 9 on the abacus
- ✓Combine heaven bead and earth beads