answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

They're not reversed, exactly. The "B" in "BC" stands for "before." The longer something happens before an event, the higher the number. It's like a countdown to takeoff: T minus 5 hours, T minus 2 hours, T minus 30 minutes, etc. When you count down to a certain time, the higher numbers are the earlier ones.

The BC dates count down to what we might call the year zero (but we don't, we call it the year 1). The event that everything is dated before or after in the calendar now used throughout the world is the birth of Christ. The BC dates count down to that event, measuring time before it, and the AD dates count up afterward.

If you've seen one of those kitchen timers that you can set for, say, an hour, you see it count down from 60 to 0 as time runs out. Some of those timers sound their beep and then start counting up to tell you how long ago zero was. BC and AD work just like that (except that people weren't actually counting down to Christ's birth beforehand, of course--other calendars were in use then).

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why are the years in BC reverse?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

Which comes first 12 bc or 5 bce?

BC, which is Before Christ, and BCE, which is Before Common Era, actually refer to the same thing. Years in BC/BCE work in reverse. So 12 BC/BCE came before 5 BC/BCE.


How many years is it from 321 BC to 272 BC?

49 years


How many years were there between 940 BC and 123 AD?

To find the answer you go both ways. Add 940+123 and get 1063. Then you minus 1 to get 1062. THERE WAS NO 0 YEAR!!! Remember BC is going in reverse and AD is going forward.


How many years between 27 BC and AD14?

To find the answer you go both ways. Add 27+14 and get 44. Then you minus 1 to get 43. because there is no 0 year. Remember BC is going in reverse and AD is going forward.


How many years is 1550 bc to 1080 bc?

470 years.


How many years were there between3186 BC and 735 BC?

2451 years


How many years were there between 3186 BC 735 BC?

2451 years.


How many years between 1490 BC to 945 BC?

545 years.


How many years are between 254 BC and Y BC?

208 years


How many years between BC 3100 and BC 2181?

918 years


How many years between BC 3186 and BC 735?

2451 years


How many years are between 3186 BC and 735 BC?

2450 years