I wanted to know of the various alternatives are possible? In question 5 I just wanted to know how I can calculate time before and after the birth of Christ. Thank you.

1)The Roman Emperor Hadrian had a wall built to keep the Scottish out. (to defend Roman Britain from/against an attack by the Scottish).
2) Christianity was introduced (??) into Scotland in the sixth century. (Scotland was converted to Christianity?)
3) General Macbeth killed King Duncan and ruled from 10.. to 1057.
4) In the ninth century Scotland was united under the same king for the first time, as the country struggled to fight off (repulse/repel) invasions from the Vikings.
5) Can you explain to me how to calculate the years (BC, AD). For example, what does 120 AD mean? How can I calculate the time span from 120 AD and the sixth century?

1. OK

2. I wouldn't use the words in parentheses; there's no way to prove that ALL Scots became Christian.

3. OK

4. OK

5. Conventionally, BC means "Before Christ" and AD means "Anno Domini" (in the year of our Lord). Even though, most scholars think Jesus was born about 3 or 4 BC, it was commonly accepted that all the years labeled BC were before the birth of Christ, and all the years labeled AD were after his birth.

Currently, there are some historians and others who use the labels BCE (before the common era) and CE (the common era).
Here is one person's opinion of this:
http://www.studentsfriend.com/feed/topic11.html
(first post)

The BC (or BCE) years/centuries are counted down, so to speak. You can see an example of this here: http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/places-timelines/01-ancient-greece-timeline.htm

The AD (or CE) years/centuries are counted up, and here is one example:
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/timeline.htm

Remember that centuries seem to be off by one number. Examples:

We speak of 5th century Athens:
5th century BC = the years 500 - 401 BC

1st century AD = the years 1 - 99 AD

We speak of the Italian Renaissance as occurring approximately from 1350-1600 AD (14th - 17th centuries AD):
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Chronologies/Part%202%20%20World%20of%20Middle%20Ages.htm

I hope this isn't too confusing. I think of all this as a number line in math! It helps a little!!

To calculate the years BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini), you can follow these steps:

1) Understand the concept:
- BC represents years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
- AD represents years after the birth of Jesus Christ.

2) Calculate years BC:
- The year immediately preceding AD 1 is 1 BC.
- To calculate years before that, you simply subtract the desired number of years from the current year.
- For example, to calculate 120 BC, you subtract 120 from 1 to get 1 BC, and then subtract 1 again to get 2 BC.

3) Calculate years AD:
- Simply count the years forward from AD 1.
- For example, to calculate 120 AD, you start counting from AD 1 and reach 120.

4) Calculate the time span between two dates:
- To calculate the time span between 120 AD and the sixth century, you need to determine the number of years between these two time points.
- The sixth century refers to the years 501-600 AD. So, the time span would be from 120 AD to 600 AD.
- Subtract the BC years from AD years to calculate the time span.

Example:
- 600 AD minus 120 AD equals 480 years.
- If you want to calculate the time span including BC years, you need to subtract the BC years as well. For example, if you want to calculate the time span from 120 BC to the 6th century, the calculation would be as follows:
- 600 AD minus 120 AD equals 480 years (AD years).
- Subtract 120 BC from 480 years to get 360 years.

By following these steps, you can calculate the years BC and AD and determine the time span between different historical periods.