Numbers
A. Cardinal Numbers
379 = three hundred and seventy-nine
2,860 = two thousand, eight hundred and sixty
5,084 = five thousand and eighty-four
470,570 = four hundred and seventy thousand
2,550,170 = two million, five hundred and fifty
thousand
2,150,609,789 = two billion, one hundred and fifty
million, six hundred and nine thousand seven
hundred and eighty nine
Note : There is no plural ‘s’ after hundred, thousand,
million, and billion when they are part of a number.
On their own, they can be plural, e.g. thousands of
people, millions of insects.
B. Ordinal numbers and Dates
One of the problems with dates is that we write them
and say them in different way :
We write 4 January (or 4th January), but say the
fourth of January or January the fourth)
We write 21 May (or 21st May), but say the twenty-
first of may or May the twenty-first
1997 = nineteen ninety seven
1905 = nineteen hundred and five or nineteen o
five
C. Fractions and Decimals
1¼ = one and a quarter
1½ = one and a half
1¾ = one and three quarters
1⅓ = one and a third
4
/9 = four ninths
1⅔ = one and two thirds
9
/13 = nine thirteenths or nine over thirteen
1.25 = one point two five
1.5 = one point five
1.75 = one point seven five
1.33 = one point three three
D. Percentage
26% = Twenty-six per cent
47% = forty-seven per cent
D. Arithmetic
There are four basic processes for working out
(calculating) a problem :
+ = addition
6 + 4 = 10 (six plus/and four equals/is ten)
-‘ = subtraction
6 – 4 = 2 (six minus four equals/is two)
X = multiplication
6 x 4 = 24 (six times/multiplied by four equals/is
twenty-four
÷ = division
4 ÷ 2 = 2 (four divided by two equals/is two)
E. Saying ‘0’
This can be spoken in different ways in different
contexts
Telephone number: 603 724 = six o three, seven two
four (six zero three)
Mathematics : 0.7 = nought point seven, 6.02 = six
point o two
Temperature : 32°C or 0 F = thirty-two degrees
centigrade/Celsius or 0 Fahrenheit
-10 degrees = ten degrees below zero/minus ten
degrees
Football : 2-0 = two nil Tennis : 40-0 = forty love
Notice :
Odd numbers (3,5,7,9)
Even numbers (2,4,6,8) prime number
42 = four squared
73 = seven cubed
84 = eight to the power of four
√2 4 =
10 m x 12 m = ten meters by twelve meters
2x + 3y – z =3z/4x two x plus three y minus z
equals three z divided by four x or three z over four
x
Practice :
1. 462
2. 2½
3. 2,345
4. 6.75
5. 0.25
6. 3⅓
7. 3,546,765
8.10.04
9. 89%
10. 10 September, tenth of September
11. 3 July
12. 602 8477 (phone number)
13. -5 centigrade
14. In 1903
15. In 1876
16. e=mc2
17. 2π r
Write the following in words !
a. Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Calculator (ENIAC) was designed on July,
21st 1942, and began to be made in 1943, for
placing it needs space to 500 m2
[Link] nearest star to Earth is Proxima
Centauri. It is 923,320,310,000 km from
earth.
Nine hundred and twenty three billion, three hundred
and twenty million, three hundred and ten thousand
c. √ 9 + √ 64 + √ 625 = 12
2 3 4
The squared root of nine plus the cubed root
of sixty four plus the fourth root of six
hundred and twenty five is twelve
d. 2/3 + 1/4 x 42 =14 2/3
two per three or two thirds plus a quarter
times four squared is fourteen and two per
three
e. 3 x 3 : 3 = 3
4 3 −2 5
Three to the power of four times/ multiplied
by three cubed divided by three minus
squared / to the power of minus two
is/equals three to the power of five
Draw the following figures
1.A right-angled triangle with two equal sides of
about two centimeters in length. Draw a small
circle at the centre of the triangle and then draw
lines from the centre of the circle to each of the
angles of the triangle.
2.A rectangle with diagonal lines joining opposite
angles.
[Link] octagon with equal sides. Draw an oval in
the middle of the octagon.
4.A three-dimensional rectangular shape of
roughly 6 cm by 3cm by 2 cm.
Language of measurement (i): Basic metric units
Study the diagrams and memorize the examples.
Linear dimensions : A linear dimension is one
which we can measure in a straightline.
(a) Length
We can describe the lenght of this bar in four ways:
The bar is three
metres long.
The bar is three metres in length.
The bar has a length of three metres.
The length of the bar is three metres.
(b) Width or breadth
We can describe the width or breadth of this driving
belt in four ways:
The belt is sixty millimetres wide/ broad
The belt is sixty millimetres in width/breadth.
The belt has a width/breadth of sixty millimetres.
The width/breadth of the belt is sixty millimetres.
(c) height
We can describe the height of this
support tower in four ways:
The tower is a hundred metres
high
The tower is a hundred metres in height.
The tower has a height of a hundred metres.
The height of the tower is a hundred metres.
(d) thickness
We can describe the thickness of
this steel sheet in three ways:
The sheet is three millimetres thick
The sheet has a thickness of three millimetres.
The thickness of the sheet is three millimetres.
(e) depth
Depth is usually measured vertically downwards
from a surface. This surface is often ground level
or the surface of a liquid.
We can describe the depth of this
trench in four ways:
The trench is two metres deep
The trench is two metres in depth.
The trench has a depth of two metres.
The depth of the trench is two metres.
Other examples of depth:
(i) The depth of the beam is three
hundred millimetres.
(ii) The depth of the screw
thread is one point seven five
millimetres.
Language of measurement (ii): Derived metric
units
Study the diagrams and memorize the examples.
Derived metric units are products of the basic units.
Mass
We can describe the mass of this
block in three ways:
The block has a mass of fifty kilogrammes.
The block is fifty kilogrammes in mass.
The mass of the block is fifty kilogrammes.
area
Area is measured in squared linear
units,
for example, square metres = m2.
We can describe the area of this steel plate in three
ways:
The plate has an area of six square metres.
The plate is six square metres in area.
The area of the plate is six square metres.
volume
Volume is measured in cubed linear units, for
example cubic metres – m3.
The volume of a liquid may be
measured in litres and
subdivisions of a litre.
We can describe the volume of this brick in three
ways:
The brick has a volume of 1600 cubic
centimetres.
The brick is 1600 cubic centimetres in volume.
The volume of the brick is 1600 cubic
centimetres.
capacity
Capacity is the ability of a container to hold
something. Like volume it is measured in cubed
linear units. For liquids, litres and subdivisions of a
litre may be used.
We can describe the capacity of this tank in three
ways:
The tank has a capacity of twenty-four cubic
metres.
The tank is twenty-four cubic metres in capacity.
The capacity of the tank is twenty-four cubic
metres.
Language of measurement (iii): Compound
metric units
Complete the table below by filling in the spaces.
Greek letters and abbreviations used in
engineering
The following Greek letters are used in
engineering:
The following abbreviations are used in the
mathematics of engineering:
(Adapted from Glendinning, E. H. 2000. English
in Focus: English in Mechanical Engineering.
London: Oxford University Press. Page 32)