🔵Comparing Numbers
To compare two numbers means to find which is bigger, which is smaller, or whether they are equal. We use three signs:
>means greater than (the open mouth eats the bigger number).<means less than.=means equal to.
The place-value rule: always start from the left (the biggest place). The number with more digits is bigger. If they have the same number of digits, compare the thousands first, then hundreds, then tens, then ones — stop as soon as one digit is bigger.
👀 See a worked example
Compare 4582 and 4528.
- Thousands: 4 = 4 (same)
- Hundreds: 5 = 5 (same)
- Tens: 8 > 2 — stop here!
So 4582 > 4528.
Which is greater: 999 or 1002?
1002 has 4 digits and 999 has only 3 digits. More digits means a bigger number, so 1002 > 999.
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Compare numbers starting from the LEFT (the biggest place value).
- A number with more digits is greater.
- > means greater than, < means less than, = means equal to.
🟢Ordering Numbers
When we put many numbers in order we can arrange them two ways:
- Ascending order — smallest to biggest (going up), like climbing stairs.
- Descending order — biggest to smallest (going down).
To order numbers, compare them in pairs using place value, then line them up.
👀 See a worked example
Arrange in ascending order: 512, 230, 780, 405.
Smallest to biggest: 230, 405, 512, 780.
Arrange in descending order: 1200, 980, 1500.
Biggest to smallest: 1500, 1200, 980.
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Ascending order goes from smallest to biggest.
- Descending order goes from biggest to smallest.
- Compare with place value, then line the numbers up.
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