I can only count until trillion. That is how much money I have in the bank right now! Chos!
But Gab is asking us to count beyond 12 zeros (trillion). He encounters this in our topics in astronomy like the distances from the sun and the planets. Or he gets very high numbers when he plays with the calculator and asks us how to read it.
Here’s the standard dictionary names for large numbers.
| Name | number of zeros |
|---|---|
| Million | 6 |
| Billion | 9 |
| Trillion | 12 |
| Quadrillion | 15 |
| Quintillion | 18 |
| Sextillion | 21 |
| Septillion | 24 |
| Octillion | 27 |
| Nonillion | 30 |
| Decillion | 33 |
| Undecillion | 12 |
| Duodecillion | 39 |
| Tredecillion | 42 |
| Quatttuor-decillion | 45 |
| Quindecillion | 48 |
| Sexdecillion | 51 |
| Septen-decillion | 54 |
| Octodecillion | 57 |
| Novemdecillion | 60 |
| Vigintillion | 63 |
| Centillion | 303 |
Some trivia on large numbers
- Googol is a name invented by a nine year old to a number 1 with a hundred zeros on it. It is included in most modern dictionaries but doesn’t have formal mathematical use. This word inspired the name of the company Google.
- In 2009, Zimbabwe printed a 100 Trillion Zimbabwean dollar note. It was equivalent to 30 USD at that time.
Hope this helps you and your curious child.
Now let me withdraw that 100 trillion I have in the bank…
