What this covers
Comparing and Ordering Numbers is taught in Foundation (age 5 to 6, Foundation) as a topic to introduce. It sits in the Number strand.
Worked example
Insert <, >, or = to make the statement true: 345 __ 354
- Compare the hundreds digits: both have 3 hundreds.
- Compare the tens digits: 4 tens is less than 5 tens.
- Therefore, 345 is less than 354.
Answer: <
Difficulty scale
The sheet generator offers five difficulty settings for this topic.
- Comparing two numbers up to 20 using words (greater than, less than)
- Using <, >, and = for numbers up to 100
- Ordering three or four numbers up to 1,000
- Ordering up to five numbers up to 100,000
- Ordering mixed positive/negative integers or multi-digit numbers past 1,000,000
Common mistakes
- Interpreting the inequality sign backwards by confusing the wider mouth with smaller values
- Assuming a number starting with a larger digit is always bigger regardless of total digit length
Curriculum links
Indicative matches to Australian Curriculum v9. Check wording and codes against the official document.
- AC9MFN02 Compare and order small collections and numerals to 20 using terms such as more, less, or the same.