zero) have a predecessor. The predecessor of the successor of a number is the number itself. For instance, five is the successor of four, and four is the predecessor of five. So, the predecessor of the successor of four is four. If a number is the successor of another number, then the first number is said to be greater than the second number. If some first number is greater than a second number and the second number is greater than a third number, then the first number is also said to be greater than the third number. For example, 5 is greater than 4, and 4 is greater than 3, so therefore 5 is greater than 3. However, 6 is greater than 5, and therefore 6 is also greater than 3. The symbol ">" is used to denote "greater than." This expresses the fact that the order so-defined on the natural numbers is transitive. If two whole numbers greater than zero are added together, then their sum is greater than either one of them. Example: three plus five equals eight, therefore eight is greater than three () and eight is greater than five (). The symbol for "greater than" is >. If some first number is greater than a second number, then the second number is said to be less than (<) the first one. Examples: three is less than eight () and five is less than eight (). Given a pair of natural numbers, one and only one of the following cases must be true: the first number is greater than the second one, the first number is equal to the second one, the first number is less than the second one. This expresses the fact that the order so-defined on the natural numbers is total, or strongly connected. Counting Counting is a fundamental concept in elementary arithmetic that involves assigning a natural number to each object in a set, starting with 1 for the first object and increasing by 1 for each subsequent object. The process of counting assigns a unique natural number to each object in the set, with the exception of zero which is not assigned to any object. The number of objects in the set is known as the count and is equal to the highest natural number assigned to an object in the set. Counting can also be thought of as the process of