Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers are the numbers that are used for simple counting and that indicates the number of elements present. These are also said to be cardinals. The cardinal numbers are the counting numbers that start from 1 and increase sequentially and are not fractions.

Example: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25…∞

What is a Cardinal Number?

The quantity of a certain number is represented by a cardinal number. Suppose, I have five flowers in my bouquet. Therefore, we must count those numbers as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in order to get the quantity.

What is the Cardinal Number of a Set?

A number of members present in a set is the Cardinal number of a set. Basically, it shows the count of elements of a particular set.

For example: A{1,2,3,4,5} = 5

Or A{2,7,9,6,8,1,5} = 7

As a result, the only formula for counting numbers is to determine how many elements there are in any set.

List of Cardinal Numbers

The number of Cardinals which are mentioned above is not a limit. There are infinite numbers of cardinal numbers.

Difference Between Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers?

A cardinal number is a number that expresses the quantity of an item, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. A number that indicates a particular item’s position in a list, such as first, second, third, fourth, or fifth, is known as an ordinal number.

What is Cardinality?

The number of cardinal members of a set is referred to as cardinality. A non-negative integer can have a limited or infinite degree of cardinality.

Important Points:

1. Words like one, two, three, etc. can be used to represent the cardinal numbers.
2. While ordinal numbers indicate position or ranking, cardinal numbers indicate the quantity of elements.
3. The terms “counting numbers” and “natural numbers” are also used to refer to Cardinal numbers.
4. Decimal and fractions numbers are not cardinal numbers.
5. Zero (0) has no meaning, it is not a cardinal number.

Cardinal Numbers Example

• Five people are standing in a queue as shown 1, 2nd, 3, Four, 5th. Identify the cardinal numbers.

Solution: 1, 3 and Four help us in counting, whereas 2nd, and 5th helps us in identifying the position. Thus, 1, 3, and four are cardinal numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are Cardinal Directions?

Ans: The cardinal directions are represented by the four primary points of a compass: north, south, east, and west. N, S, E, and W are also used to refer to them by their first letters.

2. What is an Ordinal Number?

Ans: A number indicating an item’s position in an ordered sequence, such as first, second, or third called Ordinal Number.

3. Is 0 a Cardinal Number?

Ans: No, 0 is not a cardinal number.