Ordering Numbers
Arrange numbers from smallest to biggest and biggest to smallest.
🎯 What You'll Learn
You will learn to put a group of numbers in order — from smallest to biggest, or from biggest to smallest.
🏪 Market Story
Emeka visits three stalls at Computer Village Market in Lagos. He sees prices for phone chargers: ₦150, ₦85, ₦200, and ₦120. He wants to find the cheapest one, so he puts the prices in order from smallest to biggest: ₦85, ₦120, ₦150, ₦200. The cheapest charger is ₦85!
📝 Let's Learn
Ascending order means from smallest to biggest: 3, 7, 12, 25, 40.
Descending order means from biggest to smallest: 40, 25, 12, 7, 3.
To order numbers, compare them using place value, then arrange them step by step.
Example 1: Put in ascending order: 56, 23, 78, 45. Compare all: 23 is the smallest, then 45, then 56, then 78. Answer: 23, 45, 56, 78.
Example 2: Put in descending order: ₦100, ₦250, ₦50, ₦175. Biggest first: ₦250, ₦175, ₦100, ₦50.
Example 3: Five children saved money. Their savings are: ₦35, ₦62, ₦18, ₦45, ₦62. In ascending order: ₦18, ₦35, ₦45, ₦62, ₦62. (Notice two children saved the same amount!)
✏️ Practice Questions
- Put these in ascending order (smallest to biggest): 47, 12, 83, 29, 65.
- Put these in descending order (biggest to smallest): ₦500, ₦200, ₦350, ₦100.
- Funke scored 78 in English, 92 in Math, 65 in Science, and 88 in Social Studies. Order her scores from highest to lowest.
Click to see answers
- Ascending order: 12, 29, 47, 65, 83.
- Descending order: ₦500, ₦350, ₦200, ₦100.
- Highest to lowest: 92, 88, 78, 65 (Math, Social Studies, English, Science).
💡 Remember
Ascending means going up (smallest to biggest), descending means going down (biggest to smallest). Ordering numbers helps you compare prices at the market and find the best deal!