This chapter uses real-life information about wild animals to practise large number operations — reading, writing, comparing and calculating with numbers in the thousands and beyond.
Reading and Writing Large Numbers
- Numbers like 10,000 or 45,000 are five-digit numbers.
- We read them using place value: Ten-thousands, Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, Ones.
- Example: 34,512 = 3 ten-thousands + 4 thousands + 5 hundreds + 1 ten + 2 ones.
Comparing Large Numbers
- The number with more digits is always larger.
- If digits are equal, compare from the leftmost digit.
Addition and Subtraction of Large Numbers
Line up the digits in place value columns, then add or subtract from right to left — carrying or borrowing as needed.
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India has 27,312 elephants and 3,167 tigers. How many animals is that in total?
27,312
+ 3,167
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30,479 animals in all.
The forest area for leopards is 45,000 sq km. The tiger reserve covers 18,640 sq km. How much more area do leopards have?
45,000
- 18,640
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26,360 sq km more.
A national park recorded 2,340 leopards in 2010 and 3,580 in 2020. By how much did the number increase?
3,580 - 2,340 = 1,240 more leopards.
Write the number forty-five thousand three hundred and seven in digits.
45,307
Which is greater: 32,409 or 32,904?
Both have 5 digits; compare from left: 3 = 3, 2 = 2, 4 vs 9 — since 9 > 4, 32,904 is greater.
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Common mistakes
- Confusing place values when writing numbers — for example, writing 4500 instead of 45,000.
- Not aligning digits properly in columns during addition/subtraction.
Summary
Large numbers are read using place value. Always line up digits in columns when adding or subtracting. Compare digit by digit from the left.