I have always wondered how something could stretch in 2 directions and never stop. How could something be infinite? Number lines are illogical and make no sense. There is no space for a complete number line to exist, so their use is limited and any number line you ever see will have a definite beginning and end. At the core of numbers is the basic concept of counting. Numbers are there to represent an amount of an object being counted and whether you count stones or marbles or paper clips or even the inches between 2 objects, their values are shown using numbers. The numbers we use right now are based on 10, so if you were going to replace the number line, you would want something based on 10, right? I thought about this before I finally found an answer.
The number wheel
The number wheel is a circle with the numbers zero through 9 equally spaced around it. There are 10 spaces and each represents one unit. Now that we know what it looks like, we'll look at it's function. If you were to put a number with a single digit on the number line, you would simply move clockwise and go until you reach your number. However, when you have 2 or more digits, The numbers to the left of the ones place measure the revolutions. For example, 12 would be 1 revolution and 2 moves to the right, while 234 would be 23 revolutions and 4 moves to the right.
Once numbers get past a single digit of revolutions, it can get complicated. To make things easier, you can use multiple number wheels for 2 digits or more of revolutions.
Although using multiple wheels may seem confusing at first, once you figure it out then you can use any number of wheels without difficulty. For example, 89 is 8 moves to the right on the 2 digit wheel and 9 moves to the right on the 1 digit wheel; 137 is one revolution and 3 moves to the right on the 2 digit wheel and 7 moves to the right on the 1 digit wheel. It may sound complicated, but wheels are simple when you actually use them.
Sorry if this confuses you, but I'm positive that I explained it well enough. I would also like to add that you can have 3 digit, 4 digit or any other number of digits for a wheel as long as you put everything in the right place.
Fun fact: You can put any number on a single 1 digit number wheel.
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