Stan is asked to count the toes on his left foot and report the total. Stan says, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are three!" Assuming he has five toes on his foot, which principle of counting has Stan apparently failed to master?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Stan has failed to master the cardinality principle, which states that the last number name denotes the number of objects counted. He correctly counts to five but then incorrectly states the total as three.

Stan Is Asked to Count the Toes on His Left