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Mysterious Journey II Hints
What is base 12?
1 of 6: Base 12 is a numbering system that is just like our decimal system... that is, if you have two thumbs on each hand.
2 of 6: In base 10 (our usual method of counting), there are 10 different characters used to represent the digits 0 through 9. In base 12, there is also a need for different characters -- 12 of them, which would be used to represent the digits 0 through 11. (In Mysterious Journey II, the twelve different characters that you see on the airboat controls each represent a different number from zero to eleven.)
3 of 6: If we are counting in base ten (our usual numbering system), we would group whatever we are counting in groups of ten -- when we reach ten, we move a one into the "tens" spot (to represent one group of ten items). If we are counting in base twelve, we would group whatever we are counting in groups of twelve -- when we reach twelve, we would move a one into the "twelves" spot (to represent one group of twelve items).
4 of 6: Counting in base 12 would look different than counting in base 10. Base 12 counting would go like this: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 1A, 1B, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 2A, 2B, 30, 31...." In this example, "A" stands for a single digit number with a value of ten, and "B" stands for a single digit number with a value of eleven. Remember that "10" in base 12 does not have a value of ten -- but a value of twelve (one group of twelve in the "twelves" column, and zero in the "ones" column).
5 of 6: It becomes a bit more complex when a base 12 number reaches three digits. The number "BB" in base 12 represents eleven groups of twelve (the B on the left -- which has a value of eleven -- is in the "twelves" column) plus the B on the right (also with a value of eleven). Using our regular base-10 numbering system, this number would be worth one-hundred-and-forty-three (11 x 12 + 11). Adding one number to one-hundred-and-forty-three in base 12 creates a third column. For the equation "BB + 1", the one is added to the B on the right (worth eleven). This column is now worth twelve -- so a new group of 12 is carried over to the "twelves" column and "0" is entered into the column on the right. The "twelves" column (the second column) is now "B (eleven) plus one", which is also worth twelve -- and creates the need to carry another group of numbers to a new column. Therefore, one-hundred-and-forty-four (143 + 1) written in base 12 looks like this "100".
6 of 6: So, in base 12, the column on the far right keeps track of single digits (up to a value of eleven), the second column keeps count of groups of twelve (up to eleven groups of twelve), and the third column keeps count of groups of one-hundred-and-forty-fours. In other words to figure out the value of a large base 12 number, the column on the right is single digits; the second column is in multiples of 12; the third column is multiples of 12 x 12; the fourth column is multiples of 12 x 12 x 12; and so on.
