Questions:

1. If an octant is one-eighth, a quintant is one-fifth, and a trient is one-third, how much is a dodrant?

2. In the Indian numbering system and in the Urdu language, 1 followed by five zeroes is a lakh, seven zeroes is a crore, and nine zeroes is an arab. What is the name for the number in which 1 is followed by 11 zeroes?

3. In the same Indian numbering system and in Tamil, what is the word for the number of value 1 lakh lakh crore? Hint: In regular, non-numerical use, this word means ‘strangeness’.

4. What’s the name for the number worth 10,000? This name is descended from a Greek word meaning “of countless numbers” and is often colloquially used to mean a very large number.

5. The short and long scales are two ways to name numbers expressed as powers of 10. In the short scale, a trillion is a thousand-billion; in the long scale, it’s a million-billion. What’s the name of a quadrillion on the long scale?

Visual:

Name the horse in this picture. In the early 20th century, Wilhelm von Osten (pictured) claimed this horse could count, but it was later found to be a classic case of experimenter’s bias.

Answers:

1. Three-fourths

2. Kharab

3. Anniyam

4. Myriad

5. Billiard

Visual: Clever Hans