Answer to Question #120603 in Algebra for Amy

Question

Use the correct language to explain the difference between the expressions: “It is the fifth of December” “You are the fifth in the row” “I want a fifth of the pizza” What types of numbers are we dealing with in the above expressions?

Answer 1

1. “It is the fifth of December” 

The term "fifth" represent an ordinal number as ordinal numbers are answer to "which one?"

If we ask which one of December,the answer will be fifth.

2 . “You are the fifth in the row”

This represents the order in a row.Its also an ordinal number.

If we ask which one in the row,the answer will be fifth.

3. “I want a fifth of the pizza” 

It represent the fractional part.Its also an ordinal number.

If we ask which part,the answer will be the fifth part of pizza.

So,all these are ordinal numbers with difference in usage.