A natural number <math>\mathbb{N} </math> can be used for two purposes:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... or 1, 2, 3, 4,
The natural numbers are those used for:
Operation | Example | Words |
---|---|---|
counting | there are six coins on the table | cardinal numbers |
ranking | this is the third largest city in the country | ordinal numbers |
N is a number system.
where:
In the base 10 numeral system, the symbols for natural numbers are written using ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
In set theory, natural numbers can be represented by classes of equivalent sets. For instance, the number 3 can be represented as the class of all sets that have exactly three elements.