Addition +

(5 + 3= 8) Five plus three equals eight.

(1 + 6= 7) One and six is seven.

Subtraction
(3 2 = 1) Three minus two equals one.
(18 4 = 14) Eighteen subtract four is fourteen.

Multiplication x
(7 x 3 = 21) Seven times three equals twenty-one.
(2 x 3 = 12) Two multiplied by three is twelve.

Division
(6 3 = 2) Six divided by three equals two.
(15 5 = 3) Five goes into fifteen three times.

Other Maths Symbols:

< less than
> greater than
fractions
% percent
90 degrees
1.666 decimals

Cardinal Numbers
The numbers you use for counting are called "cardinal numbers", for example:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

Here are some other cardinal numbers you need to remember for counting:

0 zero
1 one
10 ten
100 one hundred
1,000 one thousand
1,000,000 one million
1,000,000,000 one billion
The Powers of 10

Class of One 1
Ones Ten 10

Hundred 100

Class of One thousand 1,000

Thousands Ten thousand 10,000

Hundred thousand 100,000

Class of One million 1,000,000

Millions Ten million 10,000,000

Hundred million 100,000,000

Class of One billion 1,000,000,000

Billions Ten billion 10,000,000,000

Hundred billion 100,000,000,000

Example 1. Read this number:

256,312,785,649,408,163

Answer. Starting from the left, 256, read each three-digit group. Then say the name of
the class.

Say:

"256 Quadrillion, 312 Trillion, 785 Billion, 649 Million, 408 Thousand, 163."

Example 2. Write in numerals:

Four hundred eight million, twenty-nine thousand, three hundred fifty-six.

Answer. Pick out the classes: "million", "thousand". Each class (except perhaps the
first class on the left) has exactly three digits:
Ordinal Numbers
The numbers you use to talk about the order of things are called "ordinal numbers", for
example:

My horse came in first.

I was the fifth person in line.

Here are the first ten ordinal numbers:

first 1st sixth 6th

second 2nd seventh 7th
third 3rd eighth 8th
fourth 4th ninth 9th
fifth 5th tenth 10th

Multiples
half (1/2)
single (1)
double (x2)
triple (x3)
quadruple (x4)

a pair/couple (2)
a few (2 or 3)
several (more than 3 but not many)
a dozen (12)
a half dozen (6)

Decimals
Example 1. .038
"38 thousandths"

Ignore the decimal point and read 038 as the whole number "Thirty-eight." The last
digit, 8, falls in the thousandths place.

When we read .038 as "Point 0, 3, 8," that is "spelling" the number, which is often
convenient. But its name is "Thirty-eight thousandths."

Example 2. .002135

"2,135 millionths"
Ignore the decimal point, and read 002135 as the whole number 2,135 ("Two thousand
one hundred thirty-five"). The last digit 5 is in the millionths place.

Example 3. 14.0029

"14 and 29 ten-thousandths."

This is called a mixed number. The decimal point separates the whole number 14 on
the left, from the decimal fraction on the right. In a mixed number, we read the decimal
point as "and."

Example 4. Write these in numerals:

a) Two hundred four thousand

b) Two hundred four thousandths

c) Two hundred and four thousandths

Answers.

a) 204,000 This is a purely whole number.

This is a purely decimal number. The thousandths are the 3rd decimal
b) .204
place. Therefore the 4 must fall in that last place.
This is a mixed number. The word "and" will always signify the decimal
c) 200.004
point.

Example 5. Write in words: $607.08

Answer. Six hundred seven dollars and eight cents.

Save "and" for the decimal point.

Note that cents means hundredths. (Centum in Latin means 100.) 1 cent is the
hundredth part of one dollar. We write 1 cent either as

$.01 or 1.

When we write the cent sign , we do not write a decimal point.

Example 6. Write "eighty cents" using the dollar sign $ and using the cent sign .

Answer. $.80 80