Grade 3 · Unit 1: Number and place value

Thousands

What happens after 999?

Big crowds

A cricket stadium can hold more than 25 000 people. To count such big numbers we need thousands. After 999 comes 1000: one thousand.

Thousands, hundreds, tens and ones

10 hundreds make 1 thousand. This shows 2 thousands, 3 hundreds, 4 tens and 5 ones. We write 2345 and say “two thousand, three hundred and forty-five”.

Place value to 10 000

Each place is worth 10 times the place on its right. In 7052: 7 thousands, 0 hundreds, 5 tens, 2 ones. 7052 = 7000 + 50 + 2.

Comparing and rounding

To compare, look at the biggest place first: 4120 > 3980 because 4 thousands > 3 thousands. To round 3480 to the nearest hundred, look at the tens: 8 → round up to 3500. To the nearest thousand, look at the hundreds: 4 → round down to 3000.

Ten thousands and beyond

After 9999 comes 10 000 – ten thousand. 45 708 has five digits. The 4 is worth 40 000. Bangladesh’s biggest stadium holds about 25 000 people – a 5-digit number.

Below zero

A thermometer can go below 0 °C on a cold mountain. Numbers below zero are negative: −1, −2, −3 … −4 is colder than 2. On a number line, numbers get smaller to the left.

What I learnt

• I can read and write numbers to 10 000.
• I can compare and order 4-digit numbers.
• I can round to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000.