A Simple Way to Count Parental Lineage
(Best viewed with Netscape 3.0+)
By using a simple arithmetic formula, you can count the Number of
Parental
Relations (NPR), for a given generation, going back any number of
generations.
The formula is:
NPR = 2X
where NPR is the number of parental relations and X
= the number of generations back from yours.
For example, going back one generation, X = 1 and we
have:
NPR = 2X = 21 = 2
persons-the
number of parents.
Going back 2 generations, X = 2 and we have:
NPR = 2X = 22 = 2 x 2 = 4
persons-the
number of grandparents.
Going back 5 generations, X = 5 and:
NPR = 2X = 25 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2
x 2 = 32
persons-the number of great great great grand parents.
NOTE: The number of "great"s is always the number of generations,
X, minus two (your parents' generation and your
grandparents'
generation). In the last example it's X - 2 = 5 - 2 = 3
"great"s
for "great great great grandparents".
Note also that if you go back 0 generations:
NPR = 2X = 20 = 1 person:
YOU.
The table below summarizes the results going back seven
generations.
Number of
Generations (X) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
5 | 6 | 7 |
Number of Parental
Relations
(2X) |
1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
32 |
64 | 128 |
| YOU |
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| Parents |
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| Number of Grand
Parents |
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|
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| Number of Great Grand Parents |
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| Number of Great Great Grand
Parents |
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| Number of Great Great Great Grandparents |
|
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| Number of Great Great Great Great
Grandparents |
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| Number of Great Great Great Great Great
Grandparents |
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