To solve problems about spans of time that include b. c. and a. d. dates, you would need to use which numbers?

The correct numbers to use in solving problems about spans of time like B.C. and A.D. should be “integers”.

Integers are whole numbers (not a fractional number or not a decimal number) which can take a value of negative, zero, or positive number. Example of integers would be -1, 0 and 1.

In calculations, the time period would be on the x-axis. Since B.C. and A.D. are two different spans of time, therefore in the calculations, the date of BC should be negative (negative x-axis) while the date of AD should be positive (positive x-axis). This would place the origin as the common reference.