Into the Deep

Number or Amount?

Use number when the noun you’re referring to is countable: water bottles, people, books. 

Use amount for things that cannot be counted: water, love, knowledge.

Prepare to journey to a mysterious place in the deep ocean. Along the way, you may see many wonders, like underwater volcanoes and bubbling gases. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot a number/an amount of big-mouthed anglerfish, their headlamps glowing eerily as they prowl the water like hungry ghosts. 

Finally, you’ll arrive at your destination: a giant canyon called the Mariana Trench. No number/amount of sunlight can reach there. The darkness is total, and the temperature hovers just above freezing. 

The Mariana Trench stretches some 1,500 miles across the floor of the Pacific Ocean. At its lowest point, it’s a staggering 7 miles below the surface. If you placed Mount Everest—the tallest mountain on Earth—at the bottom of the trench, the peak would still be a mile underwater!

It was long believed that nothing could survive at such extreme depths. But, in fact, a number/an amount of creatures do. Sharp-fanged goblin sharks, see-through telescope octopuses, and slimy Mariana snailfish are just a few of the unusual life-forms that live there.

To reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, you will need a special kind of watercraft called a submersible. A submersible is built to withstand the tremendous number/amount of pressure in the deep ocean. (The pressure at the bottom of the trench is like having 1,600 elephants standing on your head!) 

So far, the number/amount of people who’ve ventured into the trench is only 23. But as technology improves, more people will be able to explore it—and help unlock the secrets of this strange, beautiful place.