Types of numbers

There are three types of numbers:

Cardinal Numbers:
Cardinal numbers tell us the quantity of something. For e.g five eggs, six cats, etc. Cardinal numbers basically tell us "how many?"

There are two carrots in the picture. Two is a cardinal number as it tells us the quantity of carrots. You can also say "2 carrots" instead of "two carrots". Both "2" and "two" represent cardinal numbers here. Similarly, there are four dragons in the picture. Four is a cardinal number as it tells us the quantity of dragons.

You can also say "4 dragons" instead of "four dragons". Both "4" and "four" represent cardinal numbers here.

Ordinal:

Ordinal numbers tell us the position of something. For e.g. first, second, third, etc. Ordinal number is basically the "order of things".

This is a picture of a queue in front of the ATM machine where every person in the line has a position and that position is an ordinal number. First is the word form of the ordinal number 1st. Second is the word form of the ordinal number 2nd. Third is the word form of the ordinal number 3rd. Fourth is the word form of the ordinal number 4th. Fifth is the word form of the ordinal number 5th. Sixth is the word form of the ordinal number 6th and so on.

Nominal:

Nominal numbers give us no information other than the identification of something. There is no information about quantity or position in a nominal number such as a telephone number, a bar code, etc. Nominal numbers basically tell us "the name of something".

This is a picture of a car that can be identified by its number 53. It is just the name of the car i.e. Car No. 53. The number 53 does not tell us the quantity or the total number of cars or the position of the car. Let's look at an example with all three types of numbers in it. In this picture, there are three cars. "Three" tells us the quantity of cars. So, three is a cardinal number. The number "99" identifies the car so 99 is a nominal number. Car no:99 is in the second position. Second tells us the position of the car so second is an ordinal number.

When do children learn about Number Types?

Children learn about cardinal numbers and nominal numbers almost at the same time when they start doing maths. They learn to recognize the numbers and associate each number with its quantity. Number recognition is equivalent to learning about nominal numbers. This way, the children can learn their id number, parents' phone numbers, etc. When they associate each number to its quantity, they are learning about cardinal numbers. Now, they can count things. Once they have mastered nominal numbers and cardinal numbers from 0-10, they are ready to learn about ordinal numbers i.e positions of things.
As number recognition and counting are the basis of maths, so this is the first thing that children start learning once they can recognize things and speak. To help your kids in their adventurous journey, I have made a very cute app called "Countville" that is perfect for little fingers and curious minds. Children can make a beautiful farm while learning number recognition and counting up to 10. They can dig holes for seeds, water plants, harvest apples, catch fish and do much, much more. The best thing is that just like my other apps, Countville is also 100% FREE.

Countville can be downloaded from all major app stores.

Special Thanks to: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background

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