Number Line and Comparing Numbers
A number line places numbers in order, getting bigger as you move right. So −3 sits to the left of 2, which means −3 is smaller. Inequality symbols compare values: > means greater than and < means less than.
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Understanding the Number Line
- Numbers get bigger as you move right on the number line.
- Numbers are spaced at equal intervals along the line.
Using Inequality Symbols
- The symbol > means greater than and < means less than.
- The symbols ≥ and ≤ include equal to as well.
Comparing Positive Numbers
- A number with more digits is usually greater if both are positive.
- If the digits are equal, compare from left to right. The number with the first bigger digit is larger.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding
Write the inequality for this statement: "5 is less than or equal to 8."
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The inequality "5 ≤ 8" correctly represents the statement "5 is less than or equal to 8."
Place 0, 10, −20, and −30 on a number line, which number is furthest to the left?
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On a number line, numbers decrease as you move to the left, and the value "−30" is the smallest.
Write the inequality for this statement: "25 is greater than or equal to 16."
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The inequality "25 ≥ 16" correctly represents the statement "25 is greater than or equal to 16."
True or False: 12 ≥ 12.
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The inequality "12 ≥ 12" means "12 is greater than or equal to 12." Since 12 is equal to 12, the statement is True.
Identify the greater number between 213 and 321.
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When comparing numbers with the same number of digits, compare from left to right. The hundreds digit of 321 is 3, which is greater than 2 in 213, so 321 is the larger number.
Which is greater: 3459 or 3498?
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When comparing numbers, check digits from left to right. Both start with 34, but in the tens place 9 > 5, so 3498 is greater than 3459.
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Interactive Activity
Visualise numbers on a line to compare their values.
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Students Also Ask
The questions students bump into most on this topic
Picture a hungry crocodile whose mouth always opens towards the bigger number. The wide, open end faces the larger value and the pointed end faces the smaller one. So in 20 > 12, the open side faces 20, showing that 20 is greater than 12.
The greater than or equal to symbol (≥) means a value is at least as big as another. It is true when the first number is bigger or when the two are equal. For example, 20 ≥ 12 is true because 20 is greater than 12.
Yes. A number can be less than or equal to itself because the "equal to" part makes the statement true. Take 20 ≤ 20. The part "20 is less than 20" is false, but "20 is equal to 20" is true. So the whole inequality is correct.
When two numbers have the same number of digits, compare them digit by digit from left to right. Find the first place where the digits differ: the number with the larger digit there is greater. In 6749 and 6784, 4 is less than 8, so 6749 is less than 6784.
For positive numbers, yes. A positive number with more digits is always larger than one with fewer digits. For example, 1001 is greater than 998. This is because 1001 has four digits while 998 has only three, one more digit on the left.
The origin is the point marked 0 in the middle of a number line. It is the centre of the line. Negative numbers sit to its left and positive numbers sit to its right. The origin therefore separates the negative numbers from the positive ones.