A calculator, number cards and grouped place-value blocks arranged on a warm off-white background in IllumiTutor navy and amber.

P3 Whole Numbers to 10,000

Counting in hundreds and thousands, reading zero places, comparing numbers and continuing P3 sequences to 10,000.

⏱ 6 min · 🎯 5 things to master

Numbers to 10,000 become friendly when every digit has a job. Read the places from left to right, keep zero placeholders, and watch what changes when ten counters are exchanged for one counter in the next column.

Parents: let your child choose a prediction before revealing the place-value counters, then ask them to explain each zero place aloud.

By the end you will be able to count in hundreds and thousands, read and write numbers to 10,000, compare and order them, and continue increasing or decreasing sequences.

Count in hundreds and thousands

Counting by a hundred adds one hundred to the number; counting by a thousand adds one thousand. Stop at 10,000 for this P3 lesson. When 999 gets one more, every lower place exchanges ten counters and a new thousand appears.

🤔 Predict first: Starting at 9,900 and counting forward by 100, what boundary value comes next?

Place-value counters (P3)

Predict first: Starting at 9,900 and counting forward by 100, what boundary value comes next?

The 999 boundary exchange

999+1=1,000999 + 1 = 1,000
9 ones+1 one=10 ones=1 ten9\text{ ones}+1\text{ one}=10\text{ ones}=1\text{ ten}
9 tens+1 ten=10 tens=1 hundred9\text{ tens}+1\text{ ten}=10\text{ tens}=1\text{ hundred}
9 hundreds+1 hundred=10 hundreds=1 thousand9\text{ hundreds}+1\text{ hundred}=10\text{ hundreds}=1\text{ thousand}

Build a number with place value

The of a digit tells you how much it contributes. In 4,006, the 4 is in the thousands place and the 6 is in the ones place. The two zeroes hold the hundreds and tens places; they do not disappear.

4 thousands1,0001,0001,0001,0006 ones1 each

Read every place in 4,006

4,006=4×1,000+0×100+0×10+6×14,006=4\times1,000+0\times100+0\times10+6\times1
4,006=4,000+64,006=4,000+6

Four thousands and six ones make 4,006. It is not 406 because the thousands place still matters even when hundreds and tens are zero.

Read and write numerals and words

Read the places that have a value and use the word “and” before the final part when it helps the number sound clear. For example, 4,070 is “four thousand and seventy”: there are zero hundreds, seven tens and zero ones. The numeral and the word form name the same quantity.

Numeral to words

4,070=4 thousands+0 hundreds+7 tens+0 ones4,070=4\text{ thousands}+0\text{ hundreds}+7\text{ tens}+0\text{ ones}
4,070 = four thousand and seventy\text{4,070 = four thousand and seventy}

🤔 Predict first: Which numeral means four thousands, zero hundreds, seven tens and zero ones?

Compare and order numbers

To compare two whole numbers, begin at the highest place. If the thousands digits match, compare hundreds; then tens; then ones. The first different place decides which number is greater. Put numbers in order only after checking the same places.

Order from least to greatest

8,999<9,090<9,900<10,0008,999<9,090<9,900<10,000
Compare thousands first, then hundreds, tens and ones when needed.\text{Compare thousands first, then hundreds, tens and ones when needed.}

Continue increasing and decreasing sequences

An increasing sequence gets larger by its step. A decreasing sequence gets smaller by its step. Find the difference between two neighbouring terms, then use the same step to fill the blank. The lab shows a hundred-step sequence up to 10,000 and a thousand-step sequence moving down from 10,000.

Two sequence steps

8,900,9,000,9,100,9,200,…,10,0008,900,9,000,9,100,9,200,\ldots,10,000
10,000,9,000,8,000,7,000,6,00010,000,9,000,8,000,7,000,6,000

Practise with worked steps

Practice 1. Fill both strips: add 100 from 8,900 to 10,000, and subtract 1,000 from 10,000 to 6,000.

Show the complete sequence solution

Keep the step constant

8,900,9,000,9,100,9,200,9,300,9,400,9,500,9,600,9,700,9,800,9,900,10,0008,900,9,000,9,100,9,200,9,300,9,400,9,500,9,600,9,700,9,800,9,900,10,000
10,000,9,000,8,000,7,000,6,00010,000,9,000,8,000,7,000,6,000

Practice 2. Build and write 4,006 using thousands, hundreds, tens and ones.

Show the place-value solution

Build 4,006

4,006=4 thousands+0 hundreds+0 tens+6 ones4,006=4\text{ thousands}+0\text{ hundreds}+0\text{ tens}+6\text{ ones}
4,006=4,000+64,006=4,000+6
four thousand and six\text{four thousand and six}

Practice 3. Order 9,090, 9,900, 8,999 and 10,000 from least to greatest.

Show the comparison solution

Compare the highest differing place

8,999<9,090<9,900<10,0008,999<9,090<9,900<10,000

Watch out — easily mixed up

Follow the number path

For P3 addition and subtraction algorithms, continue to P3 addition and subtraction. For multiplication and division foundations, continue to P3 multiplication and division.

Quick recap

🎯 Mastery check

Answer all 6 — your progress is saved on this device.

  1. Which numeral has 7 thousands, 3 hundreds, 0 tens and 5 ones?

  2. A school has 8,200 bottles and receives 100 more. How many bottles are there now?

  3. Which number is greatest?

  4. Which is the correct word form for 4,070?

  5. A visitor counter records 5,600, 5,700 and 5,800 on three successive days. What comes next if the pattern continues?

  6. Which statement about 4,006 is true?