What is an ordinal number example

What are Ordinal Numbers? Definition, List, Examples, Facts

What are Ordinal Numbers?

Numbers that are used to represent the rank or position of an object or a person are known as ordinal numbers. They are also referred to as positioning or ranking numbers.The sequence of ordinal numbers vary on the parameters that are based on the positions that are defined, such as weight, height, marks, size, etc. Such numbers are also known as ordinals.

How to Write Ordinal Numbers?

Ordinal numbers or ordinals are written using numerals as prefixes and adjectives as suffixes. 

For example, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and so on. We can easily identify an ordinal number: it talks about positioning.

So, if we were to say, “Bring me the bottle of jam that is lying on the 4th shelf.”, one would know that the ordinal number here is 4, which informs us about the position of the jam bottle.

The above picture shows different floors of a building. Here, we can use ordinal numbers to define the position of the floors.  

The numbers 1st (first), 2nd (second), 3rd (third), 4th (fourth), 5th (fifth), 6th (sixth), 7th (seventh), 8th (eighth), 9th (ninth) and 10th (tenth) tell us about the positions of various floors in the building. Therefore, all of them are the ordinal numbers. 

Applications of Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers are a great way to talk about the order of something. For example, the order of dates. These numbers are only used when data is provided and the data is to be arranged in order.

For example: Someone who has performed well throughout the year may get the chance to be valedictorian. They would be first in line. But someone who performed well, but was unable to score as much as the person before in various tests and exams, may be second in line to be valedictorian. The person who has not performed well at all, has the least amount of chance. 

The picture given below shows some athletes competing in a 500-m race. We can also use ordinal numbers to define their positions in order to see who the winner and runners-up of the race are.  

Other examples of ordinal numbers are as follows:

• Jennifer always ranks 2nd in the class.

Here 2nd is the ordinal number that tells you about the position that Jennifer has secured.

• Jane is standing at the 5th place in the queue. 

Hereby the ordinal number is 5th, we understand Jane’s position in the queue.

• Jenny came 3rd in the race.

Here, 3rd is the ordinal number which tells you about the place that Jenny has secured in the race.

• The 10th table is reserved.

Here, the ordinal number 10th refers to the number of table reservations made.

Ordinal Numbers 1

Ordinal Numbers 51

Ordinal Numbers v. Cardinal Numbers

The type of  numbers that are used for counting the number of objects or persons are known as cardinal numbers. This type of numbers are used for representing the cardinality of the number of elements in a set.

Cardinality means to know about the number of elements in a set. 

Cardinal numbers can be the natural numbers that we use while we are counting like one, two, three, four, five and so on.

On the other hand, ordinal numbers are used to determine the rank or position of any object or person. We write ordinal numbers using numbers as prefixes and adjectives as suffixes. 

Let us understand the difference with the help of an example.

Some students were asked to collect marbles. 

Tom collected 1, Jane collected 2, and Clove collected 3 marbles. 

Here the numbers 1, 2, 3 are cardinal numbers as they represent the quantity of marbles. 

Now, the one who scores maximum wins. So, Clove stands 1st, Jane stands 2nd and Tom stands 3rd.

Here the numbers 1st, 2nd and 3rd are ordinal numbers as they represent the position of the students.

Ordinal Numbers v. Nominal Numbers

A set of numbers that are used for labeling certain items or places so that they can be identified easily are known as nominal numbers. Whenever we have to identify an object uniquely, we use nominal numbers. These numbers are not of much use because they are just going to give information about location and not about its quantity, quality, etc. Nominal numbers can be used as area codes, on number plates of vehicles, etc. Operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are meaningless on nominal numbers.

For example: In a phone number like 202 588-6500, the number is a nominal number. Even if we apply an operation, it will not give us anything meaningful. 

On the order hand, the ordinal numbers tell us about the rank or position of any object or person. 

For example: Sophia lives in the 34th house on San Pablo Avenue, California.

Fun Fact!

11, 12 and 13 are the only numbers to use a suffix ‘–th’ but all other numbers ending with 1 use ‘–st’, those ending with 2 use ‘–nd’ and those ending with 3 use ‘–rd’.

Solved Examples

Example 1: Which English alphabet is 12th from the beginning? 

Solution: The alphabet that is 12th from the beginning is L.  

Example 2: Kim, Kethy, Kiah and Kaina are sitting in the line in alphabetical order. What is the position of Kiah from the beginning? 

Solution: According to alphabetical order, the order in which they’re sitting would be: Kaina, Kethy, Kiah, Kim. So, Kiah is at the 3rd position. 

3. Christmas lies on the _____ of December. Solution: Christmas lies on the 25th of December.

Practice Problems

1

Which one of the following denotes an ordinal number?

The vehicle number of Sarah is KL23AB89.

There are 9 apples on the tree.

Catheline came 4th in the drawing competition.

None of these

Correct answer is: Catheline came 4th in the drawing competition.
In the option C, the number 4th is telling about the position of Catheline in the drawing competition.

2

How do you write 51 in ordinal numbers?

51

51st

51th

51rd

Correct answer is: 51st
The ordinal number for 51 for 51st.

3

In the word, “COMPENSATION”, which are the fourth and tenth letters?

M and O

M and N

P and I

E and O

Correct answer is: P and I
The fourth letter is P and the tenth letter is I.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 0 an ordinal number?

No, we cannot write 0 as an ordinal number.

What are exceptional ordinal numbers?

Exceptional ordinal numbers are the ordinal numbers that do not end with -th. For example: 1st (first),  2nd (second), 3rd (third), etc.

Who invented ordinal numbers?

Ordinal numbers were invented by Georg Cantor in 1883.

Ordinal Numbers - Meaning, Examples

Ordinal numbers are the numbers that talk about the position of objects. For example, 'The cookies are kept in the 3^rd drawer from the top', 'The orange dress is the 7^th one from the right', 'The soccer ball is kept in the 3^rd carton from the left'. All these sentences have one thing in common - they talk about the positions of the objects. This is the main element in the discussion of ordinal numbers.

What are Ordinal Numbers?

An ordinal number is a number that indicates the position or order of something in relation to other numbers, like, first, second, third, and so on. This order or sequence may be according to the size, importance, or any chronology. Let us understand the ordinal numbers with an example. Ten students participated in a contest. Out of them, the top winners were given medals and were ranked as 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd. In this case, the positions: 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd are ordinal numbers.

Difference Between Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

A cardinal number is a number that denotes the count of any object. Any natural number such as 1, 2, 3, etc., is referred to as a cardinal number, whereas, an ordinal number is a number that denotes the position or place of an object. For example, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, etc. Now, if we say, 'There are 3 ants and 5 bears'. This is an example of cardinal numbers. However, if we say, 'The position of the runners in the running event is first, second, third, and so on', this represents ordinal numbers. Observe the table given below to note the difference between cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.

List of Ordinal Numbers from 1 to 100

The list of ordinal numbers from 1 to 100 can be learned easily and is quite helpful for specifying the order of any given object. You can use the combinations from this list to find out the ordinal numbers from 100 onward. Observe the table given below in order to understand how ordinal numbers are written. You might be able to pick up a pattern after referring to the first twenty ordinal numbers.

Ordinal Numbers 1 to 20

Ordinal numbers from 1 to 20 are different from the rest. After the number 20, a repeated pattern of ordinal numbers can be observed. Ordinal numbers from 1 to 20 can be listed as follows. 1 - First, 2 - Second, 3 - Third, 4 - Fourth, 5 - Fifth, 6 - Sixth, 7 - Seventh, 8 - Eighth, 9 - Ninth, 10 - Tenth, 11 - Eleventh, 12 - Twelfth, 13 - Thirteenth, 14 - Fourteenth, 15 - Fifteenth, 16 - Sixteenth, 17 - Seventeenth, 18 - Eighteenth, 19 - Nineteenth, 20 - Twentieth.

☛ Related Topics

• Cardinal Numbers
• Ordinal Numbers Worksheets for Kindergarten
• Numbers
• Rational Numbers
• Prime Numbers
• Composite Numbers
• Even Numbers
• Odd Numbers
• Real Numbers
• Natural Numbers
• Irrational Numbers
• Counting Numbers

Ordinal Numbers Examples

1. Example 1: What is the 3rd letter in the word: SUMMERS?

   Solution:

   In the given word, SUMMERS, the first letter is 'S'. The second letter is 'U'. Similarly, we count the position of the letters in order, like, first, second, third, and so on which denotes ordinal numbers. So, we can see that the letter 'M' comes in the 3rd position. Therefore, the third letter in the given word is 'M'.

2. Example 2: Sam, Jenny, Mary, and Jack are standing in a queue in the given order. Who is in the fourth position?

   Solution:

   From the given information, we can say that: Sam is in the first place, Jenny is in the second place, Mary is in the third place, and Jack is in the fourth place. Therefore, Jack is standing in the fourth position. Here, 4th is an ordinal number because it denotes the position of Jack.

3. Example 3: State true or false with respect to ordinal numbers.

   a.) An ordinal number is a number that denotes the position or place of an object.

   b.) Ordinal numbers are written as 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, and so on.

   Solution:

   a.) True, an ordinal number is a number that denotes the position or place of an object.

   b.) True, ordinal numbers are written as 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, and so on.

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Practice Questions on Ordinal Numbers

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FAQs on Ordinal Numbers

What Does Ordinal Number mean?

Ordinal numbers are the numbers that specify the position of objects. For example, when we say that the books are kept on the 3^rd shelf, here 3rd is an ordinal number. Similarly, first, second, twentieth, fiftieth, and so on are ordinal numbers.

What is the Difference Between Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers?

Cardinal numbers denote the count of any object. For example, natural numbers like 1, 2 3, and so on are cardinal numbers. On the other hand, ordinal numbers denote the position or place of an object. For example, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and so on, are ordinal numbers.

How to Write Dates with Ordinal Numbers?

Ordinal numbers are used to mention the dates in English. For example, if we need to write the date of Christmas, we write the month and then the ordinal number of the day. In this case, we say that Christmas is on December 25th. Here, 25th is an ordinal number.

Is Zero an Ordinal Number?

No, 0 cannot be considered an ordinal number. Specifying the position of anything as 0^th or zeroth does not give a logical explanation.

How to Write Ordinal Numbers?

Ordinal numbers have a suffix added at the end. They can be written as first, second, third, and so on when expressed in words. When ordinal numbers are expressed as numerals, the last two letters of the words are added to the respective numbers, like, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and so on.

Why do we use Ordinal Numbers?

We use ordinal numbers for specifying the position or order of something. For example, the pens are kept in the 3^rd drawer from the top, or, Ria stays on the second floor of the apartment. Here, the respective numbers specify the position or order of the object or people, whatever the case may be.

What are Ordinal Numbers From 1 to 10?

The ordinal numbers from 1 to 10 are as follows: 1st: First, 2nd: Second, 3rd: Third, 4th: Fourth, 5th: Fifth, 6th: Sixth, 7th: Seventh, 8th: Eighth, 9th: Ninth, and 10th: Tenth.

What is the Ordinal Number of 1?

The ordinal of 1 is written as First. In the numeral form, it is represented as 1^st.

Download FREE Study Materials

Worksheets on Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal and quantitative counting for preschoolers

Teach a child to count before he becomes a first grader? Easily! To do this, you need to awaken in a preschooler an interest in mathematics and simple calculations. Of course, the game will help in this! Playfully, you can learn not only to count, but also to distinguish a quantitative account from an ordinal one. Forgot what it is and what is the difference? We invite you to refresh your knowledge.

Mathematical counting is an action for counting something. The school teaches ordinal and quantitative counting. Let's talk about them.

Content:

• What is a quantitative account
• What is the serial account
• Vacation and quantitative accounts - 5 differences
  • Dummies
  • Director
  • value
  • Games for reinforcing the material
    • "On the clouds" with ordinal counting
    • Game for quantitative and ordinal counting - Rainbow-arc
    • Game - Luntik's birthday
  • Useful recommendations

  What is a quantitative account

  A quantitative account implies an answer to the question: "How much?".

  As soon as the child remembers the question, he will understand what is required of him. Of course, information is best absorbed in the form of gaming exercises.

  Example: Place objects in front of your baby. Ask him a question, give him the opportunity to count and answer.

  The game can be gradually made more difficult. For example, adding or removing some of the items, grouping according to characteristics, etc.

  What is an ordinal score

  An ordinal score is associated with the question: "What is the score?".

  It's simple. Again, the game and objects, preferably something different from each other, for example, felt-tip pens. Ordinal from the words "order, in order", this will help the child remember the main question. Ask him to determine the serial number of any of the items.

  To complicate the game tasks, swap items, take away or add new ones, inviting the child to explain how and why the serial number changes.

  Ordinal and quantitative accounts - 5 differences

  Only an account is common between them. You have to count to get the answer to the question in the end. Everything else is different:

  • targets;
  • numerals;
  • questions;
  • direction;
  • value.

  Difficult at first glance. For a preschooler, it may even be incomprehensible, but if you play a little, everything will become clear!

  Goals

  A quantitative account is used to count something. The end goal is to determine the total number. An ordinal count is needed to determine the number of an item in an ordered set.

  A simple example. Arrange the fruits in a row: apple, pear, tangerine, orange and pomegranate. A quantitative account will help us calculate how many fruits are on the table - 5.

  Ordinal is needed to determine the ordinal number of each fruit in the row. The apple is the first, the pear is the second, the tangerine is the third, the orange is the fourth and the pomegranate is the fifth. The same can be done from right to left, the serial numbers of fruits in this case will change.

  Numerals

  Ordinal counting is impossible without ordinal numbers (indicate the order of an object in a series of sequences), and quantitative counting is impossible without quantitative ones (indicate the quantity).

  For example, one, two, three are quantitative, the first, second, third are ordinal numerators.

  Questions and Answers

  It is easiest for children to remember how the ordinal count differs from the numeral count by asking questions. "How?" - numeral, "what, what number?" - ordinal.

  This example game can be played all day long until the child memorizes the information. Ask questions about everything around him. For example:

  How many legs does a stool have?

  How many fingers are on the hand?

  How many rooms are there in the apartment?

  or

  What floor are we on?

  What candy do you eat?

  Direction

  To calculate how many items in total, it does not matter how to do it from right to left or vice versa. The goal is to determine the total. You can find out the number of an item in a set only after specifying the direction. Ordinal numbers change depending on whether you count from right to left or vice versa.

  Example:

  Can you show the third bird from the right?

  What color is the second house on the left?

  These are tasks for determining the sequence number with direction. Explain to the child that the total number of objects does not change when the direction changes.

  Meaning

  Quantitative count indicates the totality of items, and ordinal helps to determine the place of each.

  Games for reinforcing the material

  "On the clouds" with an ordinal score

  An interesting game for reinforcing the ordinal score with the smallest. To play, you will need any small toy smaller than an A4 sheet. The toy is the main character of the game. She will ride on fluffy clouds.

  Ordinary white sheets of A4 format are suitable for the role of clouds. By the way, by inviting your child to imagine the sheets in the form of funny clouds, you will push him to dream up a little.

  So what needs to be done. Lay out the sheets-clouds in a row. Place the toy on any of them. Start asking questions:

  How many clouds do we count?

  Are all clouds the same?

  Can you show me where the toy sits?

  How can we find out which cloud she is riding?

  Answering the questions, the child will count the clouds, he will be able to find out for himself that the toy is sitting on the first, second or third. You can play this game for a long time. The toy will soon get bored on its own cloud, it will want to transfer to another one, and then to the next one, and so on. As you play, keep asking your child probing questions.

  Number and Ordinal Counting Game - Rainbow Arc

  You will need multi-colored identical objects. Ideally 5-7 colors. It can be anything - from building blocks and cubes to carved figures from cardboard, balls, plastic plates, etc.

  To reinforce quantitative counting, simply ask your child to count objects. Complicate the tasks by grouping them by color or some specific features.

  When practicing ordinal counting, invite your child to name the number of an object by color and vice versa. For example:

  What color is the third ball in a row?

  What is the blue cube on the right?

  Show me the second clothespin from the left, what color is it?

  Change objects, direction of counting, number before the child begins to lose interest in what is happening.

  Game - Luntik's birthday

  If the child does not know or does not like Luntik, you can replace him with any other cartoon character. So how to play.

  Together with your child or on your own, you need to cut out 5 identical balloons on a stick from cardboard. Under one draw a birthday cake. The purpose of the game is to fix in the mind of the child the idea that the serial number always points to a specific object and depends on the direction of the count.

  The essence of the story is as follows. Luntik has a birthday. All the guests decided to give him a balloon. But someone could not resist and prepared a birthday cake for the birthday boy. Luntik knows that a surprise awaits him. The caterpillars told him about this in secret. But apart from the fact that the guest who brings the second ball will have a surprise, he does not know anything!

  Task: Find the second ball and make sure that Luntik gets a cake with it. To begin with, try to do it for the birthday man. For visibility, let him begin to count from the wrong end, skip the balls or swap them. The main thing is to clearly show the baby that the direction of the account affects the final result.

  Variations of the game are different. You can swap balls, pick up, add, etc. Each time the child must determine what has changed, why, what has become the serial number of the balloon with a birthday cake.

  Helpful Hints

  To get toddlers under 4 interested in counting in the summer, tell them it will help them find out the total number of items and find a place for each. However, do not expect too much from preschoolers. They will be confused, sometimes frankly bored and even mischievous. Due to their age, it is not so easy for them to understand the mathematical difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers, even if it is just a game.

  Be patient and kind. Do not give up trying to help the guys learn the material in a playful way, gently correct if they are wrong. Try to learn with the crumbs that "one, two, three" is needed in order to find out how many items in total, and "which" - to determine the place.

  Use available items, fantasize and interact with your child for fun. This is the easiest way to instill, if not love, then interest in mathematics from early childhood. Play the games above, come up with your own scenarios, and don't forget to mark your progress by gradually increasing the difficulty. - LiveJournal

  a rather simple-looking plastic card of the same size as a bank credit card, pinkish-brown in color with the symbols of Korea. This card contains basic information about its owner: name (in Korean alphabet and hieroglyphs, if the name is hieroglyphic), date of birth, place of residence. On the reverse side there is a fingerprint and a name written in Latin letters. It does not have an expiration date, the card is given once and for all, although in practice its replacement still occurs from time to time: cards are lost, crumpled, bent, etc.
  The most important and valuable information on this card is undoubtedly the citizen's account number itself - the most important number in the life of a South Korean, which is given to him at birth and does not change until his death. It consists of 13 digits and two parts: the first six digits are the date of birth of the person (the last two digits of the year of birth, month and day), then through a hyphen - the actual number. The first digit determines the gender of the person: for men, numbers start with one, for women - with two. For example, the abstract number will look like 850326-2123456: we can immediately find out from this number that this number belongs to a woman who was born on March 26, 1985 years, the remaining five digits are already a serial number for administrative purposes. The number of the internal registration card must also be indicated in the passport, which Koreans use when traveling abroad.
  Alien registration card (외국인등록증, Alien Registration Card) is also issued to foreigners living in Korea, although they are called differently. Card numbers for foreigners are issued according to the same logic as numbers for Koreans: six digits of the date of birth plus the number itself. However, in order to distinguish the numbers of Koreans from the numbers of foreigners, they were given different numbers to indicate gender: male foreigners are denoted by five, women by six.
  As I said, the registration number is the most important number for a Korean, no one ever tells it to anyone, because absolutely everything is done with this number in Korea: from registering on Korean shopping mall sites to obtaining a mortgage loan from a bank . Knowing the registration number, you can get absolutely all the information about a person: his address, phone number, bank account number, all information about his housing, property, taxes, income, work, etc. Therefore, of course, no one ever discloses this number, and all organizations that require it are required to keep this information in the strictest confidence.
  However, technology is also a technique to let people down from time to time - in March of this year, the largest leak of personal information in the history of Korea of ​​more than 20 million Koreans occurred (this is almost half of the country's population, if anything). All the data of the clients of the largest Korean banks, including the numbers of these internal cards, turned out to be freely available on the Internet. The commotion rose unchildish, because in fact all the honest people were opened all the financial information of half the population of the country. The Koreans immediately rushed to these same banks in a hurry to change all bank cards, close old accounts and open new ones, withdraw money from mutual funds, in general, cover their financial tracks in every possible way, until the scammers had time to take advantage of the golden chance that had fallen on them from the sky. According to my friend, who works at one of the banks where the leak occurred, they worked on those days from 7 am to 11 pm, although the bank's usual working hours for customers are from 9to 4.
  Despite the fact that there was no strong surge in financial fraud during this period, experts warn that the main consequences for citizens whose information has become public is likely to come: according to them, in terms of scammers, it would be much more reasonable to wait until all this hype subsides, and somewhere in a year or two to start your dark business. And they have a lot of room for activity: having all the information about a person in their hands, and, in particular, their civil registration number, you can easily, for example, get a loan in his name, since loans for small amounts in Korea can be obtained without leaving from home, directly on the phone. Imagine such a "surprise": you live, all so happy with life, and suddenly bam, they call you from the bank and say, well, when will you return the loan? You make round eyes, they say, what kind of loan, what are you talking about, for the first time I hear, there was nothing like that. And you, well, how is it, here, in your name, they took 20 thousand dollars, to your registration number, all honor upon honor ... Let's face it, it will not be a very pleasant embarrassment for you. And criminals have many similar ways to bring you a lot of trouble, just knowing your citizen number is enough.
  That is why the government is seriously concerned about this problem and proposed a reform of the registration of citizens. At the moment, the process is in the process of developing possible solutions to the problem after the completion of preliminary studies. In general, lawmakers propose six possible solutions, which will still be submitted for consideration to various authorities and which will have to be discussed with all parties involved in this process. In particular, they offer:
  - issue new numbers to all citizens of the country within the framework of a newly developed system;
  - give all citizens of the country new numbers in random order;
  - leave the civil numbers the same, but change the numbers of the cards themselves within the framework of the newly developed system;
  - leave the civil numbers the same, but change the numbers of the cards themselves in random order;
  - change all numbers, and cards, and numbers of citizens, and so on and so forth, all other possible variations on the theme.
  As representatives of the authorities have already stated, this reform will not be easy and cheap. Changing card numbers will entail a whole chain of necessary actions: it will be necessary not only to explain to people what and how to do now, what and when to change, but also to change the entire system of banking registration of citizens in the country, completely change the system of tax accounting, housing and communal complex, and all other areas that use the current registration numbers in their work. All this is further complicated by the fact that at the moment all information from one structure is available to another (that is, employees of the administration of districts, for example, can take information about a person’s registration at the place of residence from the tax authorities and vice versa), which entails the problem of data exchange between different departments. Simply put, in order to get away from the modern system of registration of citizens and thus protect them from possible leaks of personal information in the future, it is necessary to fundamentally change the entire system and come up with a new one.

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