Comparison of Numbers

Greater Than – Less Than – Equal To

Greater Than

Let’s observe this.

Here are 6 monkeys and 5 trees.

If each monkey sits on a tree, then one monkey is left without a tree.

So, 6 is more than 5 or we can say, 6 is greater than 5.

We write, 6>5

Here, ‘>’ is the ‘Greater than’ sign

The number on the left is greater than the number on the right; 6 > 5

Less Than

Let’s observe this.

Here are 5 kids and 7 Choco pies.

If each eats up 1 Choco pie, 2 Choco pies remain.

So, 5 is less than 7.

We write, 5<7

Here, ‘<’ is the ‘Less than’ sign

The number on the right is greater than the number on the left; 5>7

Equal To

Let’s observe this.

There are 8 girls and 8 candies.

If each gets 1 candy, then we are left with no extra candy. This means that the number of girls is equal to the number of candies.

We write, 8=8.

Here, ‘=’ is the ‘Equal to’ sign

The number on the right is equal to the number on the left; 8=8

Things to Remember

1. To remember which way around the "<" and ">" signs go, just remember:

        a.   BIGGER number > smaller number

        b.   Smaller number < BIGGER number

        c.   The “small” end always points to the smaller number and “open” end always points to the bigger number.

2. When one value is bigger than another we use a "greater than" sign i.e. ‘>’.

    Example: 8>3

3. When one value is smaller than another we use a "less than" sign i.e. ‘<’.

    Example: 5<7

4. When two values are equal we use the "equals" sign i.e. ‘=’.

    Example: 4=4