264 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
Check Your Understanding
Read the following numbers out loud and identify the place
value of each number. For example, how many ones, tens, hun-
dreds, and thousands are in each number?
1. 540
2. 4,321
3. 98
4. 200,000
5. 4,444,444
6. 106
7. 2,435
8. 111,222
9. 12,432,000
10. 4
Types of Numbers
There are different types of numbers and each type is used for its own
special purpose. The following descriptions of numbers will help you to
understand the differences between types.
Whole Numbers
Whole numbers (also called integers) are the numbers you use to count,
including zero. Whole numbers do not have decimal points and are not
fractions or negative numbers. Examples of whole numbers include 1, 5,
10, 13, 20, and 0. Another name for whole numbers is cardinal numbers. A
cardinal number (1, 2, 3, for example), is different from an ordinal number.
Ordinal Numbers
When objects are placed in order, you use ordinal numbers to tell their
position. If ten students were ranked according to their grade on their
health occupations fi nal, you would say that the student who got the top
grade was in fi rst place, the next student was in second place, and so on.
The fi rst ten ordinal numbers are fi rst, second, third, fourth, fi fth, sixth,
seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth. They can also be written as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th.
Decimal Numbers
Decimal numbers are expressed with a decimal point separating whole
numbers and decimal fractions. Whole numbers appear to the left of the
decimal point. Decimal fractions, or numbers with a value that is less than
1, appear to the right of the decimal point.
Examples: 10.5, 5.54, 3.1416, 152.71
Fractions
Fractions are numbers defi ned as one or more parts of a whole number.
Using fractions is an easy way to show portions less than one. Fractions are
used to express parts of a whole, like the numbers that appear to the right
whole numbers
numbers used for count-
ing; do not contain decimal
points or fractions; integers
ordinal numbers
numbers that place objects
in a series in order
decimal numbers
numbers expressed with a
decimal point; values left
of the decimal are whole
numbers and values to the
right are fractions
fractions
numbers composed of a
numerator on top and a
denominator on the bottom;
indicates part of a whole