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How do you order numbers?

To order numbers we first have to compare them to find out which number is the largest and which is the smallest.

When we compare numbers we look at the tens first and then the ones if we need to.

Biggest to the smallest

Can you put these numbers in the correct order from largest to smallest?

88, 32,56

Let's look at the number of tens each number has.

• 88 has 8 tens
• 32 has 3 tens
• 56 has 5 tens

8 tens are bigger than 3 tens and 5 tens, so 88 is the largest number.

3 tens are less than 8 tens and 5 tens, so 32 is the smallest number.

5 tens are smaller than 8 tens and bigger than 3 tens.

So the correct order from largest to smallest is:

88, 56, 33

Smallest to biggest

When we are ordering numbers from smallest to biggest we still find out how many tens each number has.

However, this time we put the smallest number first and the biggest number last.

Let's order the numbers from smallest to biggest.

21, 93, 57

Let's see how many tens each number has

• 21 has 2 tens
• 93 has 9 tens
• 57 has 5 tens

The order from smallest to biggest is:

21, 57, 93

Activity 1

Activity 2

Put your knowledge into practice and place the numbers in the correct order in this quiz.

Activity 3

Now try and solve the problems in this quiz.