Natural Numbers

Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics, Dean Schlicter.

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted, Albert Einstein.

Numbers and Counting

Natural numbers are those used for counting (“there are six books on the table”) and ordering (“this is the second largest city in the world”).

We use numbers in our daily lives more often than we realize. We use numbers to say how old we are as “I am seven years old,” “The age of adulthood is eighteen years old,” and “a child is a person aged between six and fourteen years old.”

We use them for dates (The fourth of July is Independence day in the United States) , for dealing with money (“This tie costs ten pounds”) , phone numbers (“My telephone number is 01244 123 4567”) , addresses, etc.

You may want to read “I cannot count the stars in the sky” for a gentle introduction to numbers.

Let’s count to ten!

1. One. We have one nose and one mouth .

2. Two I have two eyes , two ears, two arms, and two legs.

3. Three There are three little pigs in the Grimm’s fairy tale. The Three Wise Men adored baby Jesus with gold, incense, and myrrh. A triangle has three sides and three angles.

4. Four There are four seasons in a year. They are winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Do you know this song? “Four little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said: No more monkeys jumping on the bed.” A square has four sides which are all the same length.

5. Five We have five fingers on each hand (that’s why we say, “Give me five!”), five toes on each foot, and five senses: taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing.

6. Six Insects have six legs and guitars have six strings. Dices have six faces which are numbered from 1 to 6 .

7. Seven There are seven days in a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) and seven continents in the world (Africa, 5; Antarctica, 7; Asia, 3; Australia, 6; Europe, 2; North America, 1; and South America, 4). Seven is the number of dwarfs in the Snow White fairy tale: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey.

8. Eight Spiders have eight legs. The Solar System has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

   

9. Nine A human pregnancy usually lasts nine months. A cat is said to have nine lives because they are incredibly resilient .

10. Ten We have ten fingers and ten toes. There are ten commandments in the Bible , ten plagues of Egypt because Pharaoh refused to set the Israelites free, and ten lost tribes of Israel.