Number Line and Comparing Numbers
Table Of Contents
🎬 Math Angel Video: Understanding Number Lines
What is a Number Line?
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A number line is a straight line where numbers are placed in order.
- Zero is at the center, it is called the origin.
- Numbers to the right of 0 are positive numbers (1, 2, 3, …).
- Numbers to the left of 0 are negative numbers (-1, -2, -3, …).
❇️ Key Facts of a Number Line:
- The further right you move, the bigger the numbers get.
- Numbers are spaced at equal intervals on the line.
- The gap between numbers can be 1, 10, 100, or any amount, but it must stay the same across the whole line.
What are Inequality Symbols?
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Inequality symbols are used to compare two numbers or quantities.
Greater than ($>$):
Example: $20 > 12$ (20 is greater than 12)Less than ($<$):
Example: $20 < 38$ (20 is less than 38)Greater than or equal to ($\geq$):
Example: $20 \geq 12$ (20 is greater than or equal to 12)Less than or equal to ($\leq$):
Example: $20 \leq 20$ (20 is less than or equal to 20)- This means 20 is either smaller than or exactly equal to 20. Since 20 equals 20, the statement is true.
❇️ Tip to Remember Inequality Symbols
The crocodile’s mouth always opens towards the bigger number, as it wants to eat the larger number!
How To Compare Numbers?
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When comparing positive numbers, follow these two simple rules:
🛎 Rule 1: Look at the number of digits
- A number with more digits is always greater.
- Example: $1001 > 998$ (1001 has 4 digits, 998 has 3 digits.)
🛎 Rule 2: Compare digits from left to right
- If the numbers have the same number of digits, compare each digit one by one, starting from the left.
- The first bigger digit you find decides which number is greater.
- Example: $6749 < 6784$ (Compare: 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 4 < 8 → so 6749 is smaller than 6784. The rest digits do not matter.)
🍪 Quiz: Practice with Number Lines and Inequalities
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