Which of the following characteristics differentiates a posi

Which of the following characteristics differentiates a positional numeration system from a nonpositional numeration system? A. A positional system must have a symbol for zero. B. A positional system must use a distinct cipher in each place value. C. A non positional system does not have a base. D. A nonpositional system relies on hieroglyphics instead of abstract symbols.

Solution

The correct answer is D .

A non positonal system relies on hierglyphics insted of abstract symbols.

For instance

III means 3 in roman numerals where I mean 1 so 3 III means 3

similarly IV means 4 , as V means 5 and placing I before it means that we must substract 1 from 5 to get 4

where as positional system is based on abstract symbols

such as 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 etc . Combination of these numbers results in different numbers of the positional number system . example 001 and 100 , changing the position of the number 0 changes the number