Ordinal number facts for kids
Ordinal numbers are special numbers that tell you the order of things. Think of them like telling you "first," "second," "third," and so on. They show position in a list or sequence.
Imagine you have four different T-shirts laid out in a row, from left to right:
- First, there's a red T-shirt.
- Next to it is a blue one.
- Then comes a yellow T-shirt.
- Finally, at the very end, is an orange T-shirt.
If you start counting them from the left, the red shirt is the first T-shirt. The blue shirt is the second T-shirt. The yellow shirt is the third one, and the orange T-shirt is the fourth one.
The words "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" are all ordinal numbers. They help us understand the specific place or rank of something when there are many items in a group.
How We Use Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are used all the time in everyday life!
- Dates: We say "January first" or "the fifth of May."
- Races: In a race, we talk about the first place winner, the second place winner, and so on.
- Floors: Buildings have a first floor, a second floor, and higher floors.
- Sequences: When you follow steps, you do the first step, then the second step, and so on.
They are different from cardinal numbers, which just tell you how many of something there are (like "one," "two," "three"). Ordinal numbers tell you which one in a sequence.
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Número ordinal (teoría de conjuntos) para niños
