Q1.
What does the first part of each name denote? [million (10⁶), billion (10⁹), trillion (10¹²), quadrillion (10¹⁵), quintillion (10¹⁸), sextillion (10²¹), septillion (10²⁴), octillion (10²⁷), nonillion (10³⁰), decillion (10³³)]
Answer
It is a counting word, and it tells you how many times 1000 is multiplied into 1000.
| Name | First part means | Built as | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| million | 1 (Latin mille, thousand) | 1000 × 1000 | 106 |
| billion | bi = 2 | 1000 × 10002 | 109 |
| trillion | tri = 3 | 1000 × 10003 | 1012 |
| quadrillion | quadri = 4 | 1000 × 10004 | 1015 |
| quintillion | quint = 5 | 1000 × 10005 | 1018 |
| decillion | dec = 10 | 1000 × 100010 | 1033 |
If the first part stands for k, the name equals 1000 × 1000k = 103 × 103k = 103k+3
Check: k = 3 (trillion) gives 109+3 = 1012 ✓
Check: k = 3 (trillion) gives 109+3 = 1012 ✓
Why it happens: the whole family is generated by one rule — each name is 1000 times the one before, so the exponents rise in steps of 3. The Indian names work the same way but step by 100 instead: lakh 105, crore 107, arab 109, kharab 1011, neel 1013, padma 1015, shankh 1017, maha shankh 1019 — exponents rising by 2 each time.
Did you know? In the Lalitavistara (first century BCE) the mathematician Arjuna names odd powers of ten all the way to a tallakshana, 1053. A Pali grammar treatise of Kāccāyana goes to 10140, called asaṅkhyeya.