Comparing Whole Numbers

Comparing Whole Numbers

Greater Than, Less Than, and Equal To

• > means "is greater than" (50 > 38 means "Fifty is greater than thirty-eight.")

• < means "is less than" (12 < 17 means "Twelve is less than seventeen.")

• = means "is equal to" (4 + 2 = 5 + 1 means "The sum of four and two is equal to the sum of five and one.")

Tips for Comparing Whole Numbers

• A number with more digits is larger: any 6-digit number, for example, will be bigger than any 5-digit number.

• For numbers with the same amount of digits, the columns with bigger place values matter most of all. Start on the left!

• If the left-most digit is a tie, check the next digit to the right!

Poll

Which number is greater?

• 24,198

• 25,061

Multiple Choice

Which equation is written correctly?

• 14,970 < 12,655

• 8,756 > 10,220

• 82,443 > 82,368

Open Ended

What is a number that could go in the blank to make the following equation true?

50,000 > ____

Open Ended

Explain to a younger student: how can you quickly compare two different whole numbers to see which one is larger?