Two hurling matches on the same weekend. One drew a crowd of 4,260. The other drew 4,209. Which match had more people in the stands?

These two numbers look almost the same. Have a good look. Which one is bigger, and which digit gave it away?

To compare two numbers, start at the biggest column on the left and work right. As soon as you reach a column where the digits differ, that column decides it. Look at the blocks shown and see which column settles each comparison.

Today we work through these pairs together, dropping the correct sign (< or >) between each: 3,000 and 800, then 5,400 and 5,700, then 4,260 and 4,209, then 6,231 and 6,238, and finally 2,090 and 2,900. Each time we say which column decided it out loud before we agree.

Now for a bank of trickier pairs on the board: 1,999 and 2,001, 3,450 and 3,405, 7,080 and 7,008, and 9,909 and 9,990. Sort every pair into the correct sign, saying each column aloud for the last two before you press Check.