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Less than or greater than?

When we are comparing numbers, we can use certain signs to show whether a number is less than, greater than or equal to another.

> means ‘greater than’

< means ‘less than’

= means ‘equal to’

To help you remember which sign to use, imagine the numbers you are comparing on a numberline.

If a number is further along the number line than another, it will be greater than the number you're comparing it to.

So > pointing towards the end of the number line means greater than.

If a number is closer to the start of the number line than another, it will be less than the number you're comparing it to.

So < pointing to the start of the number line means less than.

Comparing tens

Let's compare two numbers to find which is greater.

28 and 32

When we compare 28 and 32 we know we are comparing a number with 2 tens and a number with 3 tens.

The thirties comes after the twenties, so 32 is greater!

32 > 28

We can use a 100 square to help our thinking about which numbers come first.

Comparing ones

If the numbers have the same number of tens, we need to think about how many ones they have.

Let's look at these numbers now.

38 and 31

38 and 3 are both in the thirties, but 38 comes after 31 on the 100 square, so we know 38 is greater than 31.

38 > 31

Example

Let's compare how many balloons Amy has with how many balloons Alesha has.

Activity 1

These problems will help you practise comparing numbers and recognising the greater than and less than symbols.

Activity 2

These questions will help you build your confidence in comparing numbers up to 100.