What is the primary function of nominal numbers?

Nominal numbers are primarily used to name or label categories without conveying any quantitative value. They serve as identifiers for groups or items, such as jersey numbers on sports teams, social security numbers, or any other labels that distinguish one member of a set from another. This function is essential in various contexts, including research, data collection, and organization, where distinguishing between different categories or groups is necessary for classification or identification purposes.

In contrast, other types of numbers serve different roles. For instance, numbers that indicate order (ordinal numbers) emphasize the position in a sequence, while numerical values that measure actual quantities (cardinal numbers) focus on counting or measuring things. Similarly, numbers used to perform mathematical calculations also involve operations that go beyond simple naming. The emphasis on categorization and labeling clearly delineates the unique function of nominal numbers in comparison to these other types of numbers.