Writing big numbers

Writing big numbers

We come across large numbers in our everyday life so it is important to be able to read
them. To help with numbers that have more than five figures, which might be difficult to
read, we use place value.

Place value is the idea that a figure has a different value when used in different
places.

Below is a place value table with the numbers 7 853 and 5 387.
Note: Each column can only contain one figure from 0 to 9.

In the number 7 853 (seven thousand eight hundred and fifty three) the 7 has the value
7 thousand. This number is 7 000 + 800 + 50 + 3.
In the number 5 387 (five thousand three hundred and eighty seven) the 7 has the value
7 units. This number is 5 000 + 300 + 80 + 7.

In these two numbers the 7 stands for different values when it is in different places.

Writing numbers up to a million

Using the place value table can help you to write large numbers.
Look at the following numbers:

Numbers in figures Numbers in words

10 Ten
100 Hundred
1 000 Thousand
10 000 Ten thousand
100 000 Hundred thousand
1 000 000 Million

You will notice that the numbers are grouped in three figures. There is a space between
each group of three figures (counting from right to left). You will sometimes see a comma
used to separate the three figures. (If there is no comma in a large number and you have
problem saying it, try putting in the comma.)

This grouping can help you to say the number 405 000.
The first group of three figures is four hundred and five and the last three figures show
thousands (since there are three zeros in a thousand).
The number is four hundred and five thousand.

This example shows how important zero is. In 405 000 the zero between the 4 and 5
keeps the place for the missing tens of thousands. Without the zero, the number is
forty five thousand (45 000).

Writing numbers in words in figures

There are times when you may need to write down a large number in figures that someone
has told you in words. Newspaper stories often have large numbers written in figures that
may be difficult to make sense of unless you can say them in words.
Examples

1. Write five thousand, three hundred and six in figures.

Put the 5 in the thousands column and the 3 in the hundreds column. The 6 should go in
the units column so make sure you fill the tens column with a 0 to show no tens.

Th H T U
5 3 0 6

The number is 5 306.

2. Write twenty six thousand, seven hundred and fifty in figures.

For this number we would start with the tens of thousands column. Any number larger than
9 999 would have 5 figures. Start with the 2 in the tens of thousands column and continue
by putting the 6 in the thousands column, the 7 in the hundreds column and the 5 in the
tens column. The units column must have a 0 to show no units.

TTh Th H T U
2 6 7 5 0

The number is 26 750.

3. Write 58 432 in words.

TTh Th H T U
5 8 4 3 2

Again by writing in the letters TTh, Th, H, T and U above the number can help with writing
it in words. Grouping the numbers in threes from right to left will let you know that the
number must be fifty eight thousand and something. The last three figures can be read on
their own as four hundred and thirty two. The number is fifty eight thousand, four
hundred and thirty two.

4. Write 1 200 in words.

Th H T U
1 2 0 0
Start by writing the letters Th, H, T and U above the number you have been given. You can
then see that the 1 is in the thousands column and the 2 is in the hundreds column. The
number is one thousand, two hundred.
Note: Another way of writing this number would be twelve hundred. Although this is not
incorrect if you think writing numbers such as these as twelve hundred might confuse you,
stick to writing them in terms of thousands.

Ordering large numbers

When you have a series of large numbers, which are not in number order, it is sometimes
difficult to make sense of them.
Here is a table showing the daily profits of a supermarket written in order of days.

If these numbers were put into a place value table, it would be easier to arrange them in
order.

Look at each column in turn. The figures for Friday and Saturday will be the largest as
these have figures in the tens of thousands column. Looking at the thousands column
shows that since there is a 4 in the thousand column for Saturday and a 0 in the
thousands column for Friday that Saturday has the largest number. Carry on for each of
the other numbers.
Writing figures in words
0 zero 10 ten 20 twenty
1 one 11 eleven 30 thirty
2 two 12 twelve 40 forty
3 three 13 thirteen 50 fifty
4 four 14 fourteen 60 sixty
5 five 15 fifteen 70 seventy
6 six 16 sixteen 80 eighty
7 seven 17 seventeen 90 ninety
8 eight 18 eighteen 100 hundred
9 nine 19 nineteen 1 000 thousand
1 000 000 million

Big numbers glossary

Here are some of the words you may come across to do with big numbers.

Place value
A figure has a different value when used in different places. For example, in these three
numbers, the 4 stands for a different value:
45 The number 4 has a value of 40 (4 tens)
405 The number 4 has a value of 400 (4 hundreds)
54 The number 4 has a value of 4 (4 units)

Digit
A figure or a number. 45 is a two-digit number whereas 405 is a three-digit number.

Billion
When we talk about a billion we mean a thousand million or 1 000 000 000. If you see a
billion in a news story it is referring to a thousand million.
Such big numbers can be difficult to imagine.
Numerical order
The order that you would write numbers if you were counting from the lowest up.
405, 406 and 407 are in numerical order.

Unit
The word unit means one. It is the smallest number and is always on the right-hand side of
a whole number:
5 This number has 5 units
72 This number has 2 units
591 This number has 1 unit
'Writing big numbers' tutor notes
The aim of the module is to revise large numbers, writing numbers as words
and a reminder of place value.

Please let us know what you think of the worksheets, factsheets, activity and
game at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

How does this tie in with the new curriculums?

• England N1/L1.1 - Read, write, order and compare numbers, including large
numbers.
• Wales
As England.
• Northern Ireland
As England.
• Scotland
See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Writing big numbers factsheets
There are six factsheets in this section which can be printed out and kept.

• Factsheet 1 - Writing big numbers.

• Factsheet 2 - Writing numbers up to a million.
• Factsheet 3 - Writing numbers in words in figures.
• Factsheet 4 - Ordering large numbers.
• Factsheet 5 - Writing figures in words.
• Factsheet 6 - Big numbers glossary.

Writing big numbers games

• Game 1 - Greater than, less than.

In this game learners practise recognising place value in big numbers and numbers
written in words. They are given a pair of numbers and have to select whether the
first number is less than, greater than or equal to the other. The game is split into
three levels. Level A is numbers up to 100, level B up to 1 000 and level C up to
1 000 000. Watch the 'How to play' to find out how the game works. At the end of
each level students can print off a gamesheet which will show their marked
answers.
• Game 2 - Ordering big numbers.
In this game learners practise recognising place value in big numbers. They are
given a set of numbers and have to put them in ascending or descending order. The
game is split into three levels. Level A has four number to sort up to the value of
1 000, level B six numbers up to the value of 100 000 and level C eight numbers up
to the value of 1 000 000. Watch the 'How to play' to find out how the game works.
At the end of each level students can print off a gamesheet which will show their
marked answers.
Please do tell us what you think of these games.

Writing big numbers activity

In this activity learners practise big numbers by 'writing cheques'. They are
given a number in figures and from four options have to select the correct
answer in words. There are five questions with feedback at the end of each
question. They can print off the correct answers at the end of the activity.
This is a new style of activity for Skillswise, a quiz with feedback after each
question. Please let us know what you think of this activity, could it work for
other modules? Send us your thoughts at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

Writing big numbers worksheets

There are six worksheets in this section.

• Worksheet 1 - Understanding the value of digits - 1.

• Worksheet 2 - Understanding the value of digits - 2.
• Worksheet 3 - Using place value to change numbers in words to figures.
• Worksheet 4 - Writing numbers in words.
• Worksheet 5 - DVD rentals - using place value to order numbers and writing big
numbers in figures and words.
• Worksheet 6 - Buying a car - using place value to order numbers and writing big
numbers in figures and words.

Technical help:
To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':

• Flash
The game in this topic section uses Flash. This is free to download and should only
take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to
your machine.
Find out more.

If you don't have Flash the same learning points are covered in the quiz and in
the worksheets and factsheets.
If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course,
Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any
computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the
web successfully in your teaching.
Get WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our
Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:
With Skillswise
When covering this topic your students might like to try some In the news
quizzes on writing big numbers:
 • Story from April 2003 about Northern Ireland syndicate in Grand National windfall.
Questions on money and big numbers.
• Story from March 2003 about Thousands marching against military action. Questions
on dividing and multiplying large numbers by 10 and 100.
• Story from March 2003 about Comic Relief raising record total of money. Questions on
writing big numbers.

Find more In the news archive stories.

Read this week's current In the news.

Don't forget to visit Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations for more ideas for
teaching writing big numbers.

With the web

Here are some suggestions of other places on the web you might find useful for
teaching writing big numbers:

• Adult Basic Skills Resource Centre

Free resources created by basic skills tutors. There are three online quizzes:
Numbers in words, Population sort and Greater than or less than.
• Writing cheques
Practise matching words to figures in the Writing cheques worksheet and writing
cheques in the Market stall worksheet.