Cardinal, Ordinal and Nominal Numbers
Cardinal: how many
Ordinal: position
Nominal: name
Cardinal Numbers
A Cardinal Number is a number that says how many of something there are, such as one, two, three, four, five.
A Cardinal Number answers the question "How Many?"
Example: here are five coins:
It does not have fractions or decimals, as it is only used for counting.
How to remember: "Cardinal is Counting"
Ordinal Numbers
An Ordinal Number is a number that tells the position of something in a list. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc.
Example: In this picture the girl is 2nd:
And the two pups are 3rd and 4th.
How to remember: "Ordinal says what Order things are in".
Nominal Numbers
A Nominal Number is a number used only as a name, or to identify something (not as an actual value or position)
Examples:
- the number on the back of a footballer ("10")
- a postal code ("91210")
- a model number ("380")
How to remember: "Nominal is a Name".
Example With Everything
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In this photo there are 6 cars. Car Number "99" (with the yellow roof) is currently in 1st position:
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