What's in a Name Chapter Notes | Mathematics Olympiad Class 4 PDF Download

Introduction

Imagine you have a big jar of candies. You want to know how many candies are in there, right? Counting helps you find out exactly how many candies you have. It's like a superpower that helps you figure out the number of things you have or see.

Let's Understand with Story

Once upon a time, in a lovely garden, there were two best friends named Disha and Hardik. They loved spending time together exploring the wonders of nature. One sunny day, as they were walking in the garden, they came across a fascinating sight—a long line of tiny ants marching.

• Disha's interest sparked, and she said, "Look, Hardik! The ants are going somewhere in such an organized way. I wonder how many of them are there!"
• Hardik, being the quick thinker that he was, replied, "Let's find out! But counting so many ants would be quite tricky."
• Disha and Hardik put their heads together to come up with a smart plan. 
• Hardik suggested, "Why don't we draw a line on the sand for every ant that passes by? Then we can count the lines to know how many ants there are!"
• Excited by the idea, they took a stick and started marking lines on the sand as the ants passed by them. They were careful not to miss any ant, making sure each one was represented by a line.

Lines made on Sand

• After a while, they stopped and counted the lines. "There are 24 lines!" said Disha, amazed by their discovery.
• Hardik smiled and said, "That means there are 24 ants in this trail."
• Disha was excited at how counting the lines helped them figure out the number of ants without having to count each one individually. 

She realized that counting was not just a fun activity but also a useful skill that could help them solve many puzzles and mysteries.

Counting is Important for Many Reasons:

• Knowing Amounts: Counting allows you to determine how many items you have or need. For instance, if you want to share your sweets with friends, counting ensures everyone receives an equal portion.
• Doing Math: When you go out, make a tally for each cow that leaves the gate. Upon returning, remove one tally each time a cow comes back. This illustrates how counting is essential for understanding mathematics.
• Solving Problems: Counting aids in resolving puzzles and issues. For example, if you spot a flock of birds, counting them helps you find out how many there are.
• Understanding the World: Counting helps you grasp both large and small concepts. For example, you can count how many days are in a week or how many legs a spider has.
• Making Plans: By counting, you can organise your plans. For example, if you know you have five days until your friend’s birthday, you can schedule activities for each day leading up to the celebration.

Deba and Deep's Story

Long ago in the village of Tarakeshwar, there lived two cowherds, Deba and Deep. Every day, they took their herd of cows to graze in the lush fields and returned home in the evening. But one day, Deba wondered, "How do we know if all the cows have come back? What if one is missing?" They realized they didn’t know how to count, and the thought of losing a cow worried them deeply.

That evening, they shared their concern with a wise friend. After listening, the friend suggested a simple solution: "When you take the cows out, make a mark on the wall for each cow that leaves. When you return, strike out a mark for each cow that comes back. If all the marks are gone, you’ll know every cow is safe." The brothers were relieved and decided to try it the next day.

The following morning, Deba and Deep made a mark on the wall for every cow that left the gate. That evening, as the cows returned, they struck out one mark for each cow that entered. When the last cow walked in, the final mark was erased. The brothers smiled, knowing all their cows were safe. From that day on, they used this clever method, ensuring no cow was ever lost again.

Counting Number of Alphabets

Counting how many letters are in a name is simple. For example, let’s use the name “Samantha.”

• Write the Name: Start by writing down the name you want to count. Here, it is “Samantha.”
• One by One: Begin with the first letter, “S.” This counts as one letter.
• Continue: Move to the next letter, “a.” Now, that's two letters.
• Keep Going: Count each letter in the name until you reach the end. In “Samantha,” there are seven letters, so keep counting until you finish.
• Final Count: After counting all the letters, you will see that “Samantha” has seven letters.

You can also look into names further:

• Same Starting Letter: Count all names that start with the same letter as yours.
• Most Used Starting Letter: Identify which starting letter appears the most. Count how many names begin with it.

Teacher's Note: Teachers can encourage students to find the shortest and longest names among boys and girls in the class. Discuss their strategies in class.

Learn by Practicing 

Once upon a time, in a happy family, there were two sisters named Richa and Ayushi. They loved playing together and having fun, but one day, they had a small fight.

• Richa said, "My name is bigger than yours, Ayushi!"
• Ayushi replied, "No way! My name is bigger!" 
• Their brother Rahul heard them arguing and came to help. He said, "Hey, don't worry! We can figure out who has a bigger name easily." 
• He then suggested, "Let's count the letters in your names. The more letters you have, the bigger your name is!"
• Richa and Ayushi thought it was a great idea. They sat down with Rahul and counted the letters in their names.
• Richa counted, "R-I-C-H-A. That's five letters." 
• Ayushi counted, "A-Y-U-S-H-I. That's six letters." 
• Rahul smiled and said, "Ayushi, your name has more letters, so it's bigger!"

Richa and Ayushi were surprised but happy to know how to count the number of letters in their names. They hugged each other, patched up their little fight, and learned that counting letters can solve many things.

So, counting isn't just about numbers. It's a way to explore, learn, and solve problems, just like Richa and Ayushi did!

Counting Alphabets in Number Names

Counting the letters in number names is an engaging way to explore both counting and numbers. Here’s how to do it:

• Write Down the Number: Begin by writing the number you want to analyse. For instance, consider the number "seven."
• Spell Out the Number: Write the number in words. "Seven" is spelled S-E-V-E-N.
• Count the Letters: Count the letters in the word. "Seven" consists of five letters: S-E-V-E-N. 
• Repeat for Other Numbers: You can apply this method to other numbers too. For example, "three" has five letters (T-H-R-E-E), "eleven" has six letters (E-L-E-V-E-N), and "twenty" has six letters (T-W-E-N-T-Y).

Number names are the words that represent numerical values. For example, instead of saying "1," we say "one." These number names are important for expressing numbers in both spoken and written forms, particularly when counting or describing quantities. Below are the number names for the first few natural numbers:

Number names are available for every number.

Let's Practice

Once upon a time in the colourful land of Numerica, there were three best friends: Number Eighty-Nine, Number Ninety, and Number Ninety-One. They were curious about which one of them had the biggest name, so they decided to find out together.

• The friends gathered around a magical counting tree, where each leaf had a letter written on it. "Let's count the letters in our names to see who has the biggest name!" shouted Number Eighty-Nine, who was always full of energy.
• Number Ninety nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's do that! I want to know if my name is the longest."
• Number Ninety-One, the thoughtful one, suggested, "We should take turns counting each other's letters to make sure we don't miss any."
• Excited to begin, they started with Number Eighty-Nine's name. Each friend took turns plucking leaves from the tree and counting the letters in "Eighty-Nine." They counted carefully and found that it had ten letters.
• Next was Number Ninety's turn. They spelled out "Ninety" and counted the letters together. It turned out to have six letters. 
• Finally, they moved on to Number Ninety-One's name. "Ninety-One," they spelled, and counted the letters diligently. To their surprise, it had nine letters. 
• After counting all the letters, they realized that Number Eighty-Nine had the biggest name with ten letters.
• "I guess I have the biggest name!" shouted Number Eighty-Nine happily.
• "But we all have unique and wonderful names," said Number Ninety with a smile.
• "And now we know how to count the letters in our names," added Number Ninety-One.

The friends celebrated their newfound knowledge and friendship, knowing that each of their names was special in its own way.

Just like this, we can count the letters in all the numbers' names and other words as well. Keep practicing, and you'll become a pro at counting letters in no time!