Comparing Large Numbers
Order and compare numbers beyond 1000
What a learner can do afterwards
- Compare two four-digit numbers using >, <, and = by examining digits from the highest place value
- Order a set of numbers up to 10,000 from smallest to largest
- Justify the ordering using place-value reasoning
The lesson
You already know the thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones places. To compare two four-digit numbers, look at their digits from left to right. Start with the thousands digit, since it carries the most value.
Compare 4,582 and 4,519. The thousands digits are both 4, so that is a tie. The hundreds digits are both 5, another tie. Now check the tens digit: 8 is bigger than 1. So 4,582 is bigger than 4,519.
If two numbers have a different number of digits, the one with more digits is always bigger. When both have four digits, compare place by place from the thousands down, and stop as soon as you find a difference.
Compare four-digit numbers by checking digits from the thousands down, and stop as soon as one digit wins.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.