Imagine a bookshelf with 5 books arranged in a row. The book that is red is the 3rd book from the left end of the shelf. Based on this description, which of the following statements correctly identifies the type of numbers used?
Options
The number '5' signifies the position of a book, making it an ordinal number.
The number '3rd' indicates how many books there are, making it a cardinal number.
The statement "There are 5 books" uses a cardinal number, and "the 3rd book" uses an ordinal number.
Both '5' and '3rd' are examples of cardinal numbers, as they both indicate quantity.
Explanation
Let's analyze each option:
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Option A is incorrect. A cardinal number tells 'how many' of something there are. The number '5' tells us there are five books in total, which is a quantity, not a position. Therefore, '5' is a cardinal number, not an ordinal number.
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Option B is incorrect. An ordinal number tells 'which one' in a sequence or order. The term '3rd' tells us the specific position of the red book (the third one in the row), not the total count. Therefore, '3rd' is an ordinal number, not a cardinal number.
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Option C is correct. The number '5' in "There are 5 books" answers the question "how many?", which is the definition of a cardinal number. The term '3rd' in "the 3rd book" answers the question "which one in the sequence?", which is the definition of an ordinal number. This statement correctly identifies both types of numbers.
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Option D is incorrect. While '5' is a cardinal number indicating quantity, '3rd' is an ordinal number indicating position in a sequence. They are not both cardinal numbers.