IndianTechnoEra: What Are Numbers

Lesson 1 — What Are Numbers?

Numbers are part of our everyday life. We use them to count things, describe quantities, tell our age, read the time, use money and understand how many objects are present.

In this lesson, we will begin by understanding what numbers are and why we use them.

What You Will Learn

• What a number is.
• Why we use numbers.
• How numbers represent quantities.
• How numbers are used around us.

Let's Understand

Imagine that you have some apples.

🍎 🍎 🍎

There are three apples.

3

The number 3 tells us how many apples there are.

In this way, a number can represent a quantity.

What Does a Number Tell Us?

One important use of numbers is to tell us how many things there are.

One star:

⭐

1

Two stars:

⭐ ⭐

2

Three stars:

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

3

Numbers Around Us

Numbers are not only used in mathematics books. We see them in many places around us.

• Our age
• Clocks
• Calendars
• Books and page numbers
• House and room numbers
• Money and prices
• Counting objects

Examples

Example 1

🍌 🍌

There are 2 bananas.

Example 2

🐟 🐟 🐟 🐟

There are 4 fish.

Example 3

🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸 🌸

There are 5 flowers.

Let's Try

Look at the objects and find the number.

🍎 🍎 🍎 🍎

How many apples are there?

Answer: 4

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

How many stars are there?

Answer: 5

Activity — Find Numbers Around You

Look around your home or classroom and find five places where you can see numbers.

You might find numbers on a clock, calendar, book, door, measuring scale or another object.

Common Mistakes

Counting the Same Object Twice

When counting objects, point to each object once.

Skipping an Object

Count slowly and make sure every object is included.

Saying Numbers Out of Order

Practise saying numbers in the correct sequence.

Important Points

• Numbers help us describe quantities.
• We use numbers to count objects.
• A number can represent how many objects there are.
• Numbers are used in many everyday situations.

Quick Revision

A number can tell us how many things there are. For example, if we have three apples, we can use the number 3 to represent them.

Objects → Count → Number

Check Your Understanding

1. What do numbers help us describe?
2. How many objects are there: 🍎 🍎 🍎?
3. Give two examples of where you see numbers in everyday life.
4. What number represents five objects?

What Comes Next?

Now that you understand what numbers are and why we use them, the next lesson will teach you how counting works.

Next: Lesson 2 — Counting Numbers