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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

International Maths: Core
Reading & Ordering Numbers
Contents
Place Value
Negative & Directed Numbers
Ordering Numbers

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Place Value
Your notes
Place Value
What is place value?
When a number is written down using digits, each digit has a value depending on its position (place)
within the number
Each place has a value ten times larger than the place to the right of it
e.g. For the number 9876
The 6 represents 6 ones (or units) (6)
The 7 represents 7 tens (70)
"ten" is ten times larger than "one"
The 8 represents 8 hundreds (800)
"hundred" is ten times larger than "ten"
The 9 represents 9 thousands (9000)
"thousand" is ten times larger than "hundred"
In words, this number is nine thousand, eight hundred and seventy six

How do I read large numbers?

Start with the ones (units) digit and work 'right to left' through the digits to deduce the place value that
the number starts with
e.g. For the number 12345678

Ten Millions Millions Hundred Thousands Ten Thousands Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

12345678 starts in the ten millions place value

So it would be read (and written in words) as twelve million, three hundred and forty five thousand, six
hundred and seventy eight

How does place value work for decimals?

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Starting with the decimal point

digits to the left of the decimal point form the whole number part (ones, tens, thousands, ...) Your notes
digits to the right of the decimal point form the decimal part
Each decimal place has a value ten times larger than the place to the right of it
e.g. For the number 36.952
The whole number part is 36 (3 tens and 6 ones)
The 9 represents 9 tenths (0.9)
"one" is ten times larger than "tenth"
The 5 represents 5 hundredths (0.05)
"tenth" is ten times larger than "hundredth"
The 2 represents 2 thousandths (0.02)
"hundredth" is ten times larger than "thousandth"
In words, this number is thirty six point nine five two

How do I read decimals?

The whole number part would be read as above
The decimal part is read digit by digit
e.g. The number 23.45678 would be read (and written in words) as twenty three point four five six
seven eight
Although they are not read, it is still important to know the value of each decimal place

Tens Ones Decimal Tenths Hundredths Thousandths Ten- Hundred-

Point thousandths thousandths

2 3 . 4 5 6 7 8

You will often hear these place values used relating to race time
e.g. In a sprint race, athletes may be separated by "five hundredths of a second" (0.05 seconds)

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Examiner Tips and Tricks

Separate numbers with lots of digits into groups of three digits to make reading them easier Your notes
For whole numbers this is done from the right
e.g. 54687321 is easier to read as 54 687 321
For decimal parts this is done from the left
e.g. 54.687321 is easier to read as 54.687 321

Worked Example
(a) 87 654 people attended a football match. Write down the value of the digit 7.
Note down the value of each digit

Ten Thousands Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones

8 7 6 5 4

7 000
Or, in words, seven thousand

(b) A racing car completed a lap of a circuit in 1 minute and 14.263 seconds. Write down the value of
the digit 3.
Note down the value of each digit, starting with the decimal point
Work to the left (of the decimal point) for the whole number part (14)
Work to the right (of the decimal point) for the decimal part (263)

Tens Ones Point Hundredths Thousandths Ten Thousandths

1 4 . 2 6 3

0.003 seconds
Or, in words, 3 ten thousandths of a second

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Negative & Directed Numbers

Your notes
Negative & Directed Numbers
What are negative numbers?
Negative numbers are any number less than zero
They may also be referred to as directed numbers
Negative numbers are indicated by a minus sign (-)
To avoid confusion between subtraction and negative numbers, sometimes the following is used:
negative numbers are written in brackets
a longer dash is used for subtraction (—)
the minus for a negative number is raised (superscript), e.g. -4
Negative numbers are read by using the word 'negative' or 'minus' before the value
e.g. -8 would be read/said as "negative eight" or "minus eight"

What are the rules for working with negative numbers?

When multiplying and dividing with negative numbers
Two numbers with the same sign make a positive

(−12) ÷ (−4) = 3
(−6) × (−4) = 24
Two numbers with different signs make a negative

(−12) ÷ 4 = − 3
6 × (−4) = − 24
When adding and subtracting with negative numbers
Subtracting a negative number is the same as adding the positive

e.g. 5 − (−3) = 5 + 3 = 8

Adding a negative number is the same as subtracting the positive

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e.g. 7 + (−3) = 7 − 3 = 4
Where are negative numbers used in real-life? Your notes
Temperature is a common context for negative numbers
If the temperature is 3°C, and it cools by 5°C, the new temperature will be -2°C
This is equivalent to 3 - 5 = - 2
If the temperature is -4°C, and it warms up by 6°C, the new temperature will be 2°C
This is equivalent to (-4) + 6 = 2
To explain why (-5) - (-6) = 1, you could think of it as follows:
A room is -5°C, then -6°C of cold air is 'removed'
The room now warms to 1°C
Money and debt is another common context for negative numbers
A negative sign means you owe money
If someone has a debt of $200, and they borrow another $400, their total debt is now $600
This is equivalent to (-200) + (-400) = -600
If someone is in debt by $300, but then pays off $200 of their debt, they are now only $100 in debt
This is equivalent to (-300) + 200 = -100

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Your calculator isn't always as clever as you may think!
Using brackets around negative numbers will always make sure the calculator is doing what you
want

e.g. The square of negative three is (−3) × (−3) = 9

On many calculators, −32 = − 9 but (−3) 2 = 9
The second one is the required calculation

Worked Example

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Complete the following table.

Calculation Answer Your notes

3 + (-4)

(-5) + (-8)

7 - (-10)

(-8) - (-6)

(-3) × 6

(-9) × (-2)

(-9) ÷ (-3)

(-10) ÷ 5

Calculation Working Answer

3 + (-4) 3-4 -1

(-5) + (-8) (-5) - 8 -13

7 - (-10) 7 + 10 17

(-8) - (-6) (-8) + 6 -2

(-3) × 6 3 × 6 = 18 -18
one is negative

(-9) × (-2) 9 × 2 = 18 18
both are negative

(-9) ÷ (-3) 9÷3=3 3

both are negative

(-10) ÷ 5 10 ÷ 5 = 2 -2
one is negative

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Ordering Numbers
Your notes
Ordering Numbers
How do I put numbers in order (including decimals and
negatives)?
Use place value in the number to help
Write the numbers underneath each other, lining up their place-value columns
e.g. For the numbers 1 453 427 and 454 316

1 4 5 3 4 2 7

4 5 4 3 1 6

Start from the highest place value (furthest left) to compare the numbers
For decimals, numbers further to the right of the decimal point are worth less
e.g. 14 is more than 8 but 0.14 is less than 0.8
It can help to write the two numbers with the same number of decimal places to compare them
e.g. 12.115 and 12.15 are easier to compare when written as 12.115 and 12.150
For negative numbers, larger values are smaller numbers
e.g. 14 is more than 8 but -14 is less than -8
If there is a mixture, first order the positive numbers and negative numbers separately
Ascending order means in increasing order
Start with the smallest (most negative) number
Descending order means in decreasing order
Start with the largest (most positive) number

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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Comparing numbers is easier if you rewrite them with the same number of place-value columns
and in neat rows
Your notes
e.g. To compare 213.3 and 12.245 rewrite as
2 1 3 . 3 0 0

0 1 2 . 2 4 5

Worked Example
Write these numbers in order, with the smallest first
0.7, -0.7, 0.2991, -0.2991, 1.05, -1.05, 1.508, -1.508, 0.58, -0.58. 2.4, -2.4
Starting with the positive numbers only
Rewrite them with the same number of place-value columns and underneath each other
0.7000
0.2991
1.0500
1.5080
0.5800
2.4000
Looking at the highest place value, there are three values starting with 0 (the smallest digit)
These are 0.7000, 0.2991 and 0.5800
Comparing their second digits gives
0.2991, 0.5800, 0.7000
Similarly, there are two values with a 1 in the highest place value column
These are 1.0500 and 1.5080
Comparing their second digits gives
1.0500, 1.5080
There is only one number with the highest place value of 2, so the list of positive numbers can now be
put into order
Start with the smallest and write them as they originally appeared (without extra zeros)
0.2991, 0.58, 0.7, 1.05, 1.508, 2.4

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For the negative numbers

-0.7000 Your notes
-0.2991
-1.0500
-1.5080
-0.5800
-2.4000
Remembering that -2 is smaller than -1 etc
Repeat the method above to give
-2.4, -1.508, -1.05, -0.7, -0.58, -0.2991
Put both lists together, starting with the smallest (the most negative)
-2.4, -1.508, -1.05, -0.7, -0.58, -0.2991, 0.2991, 0.58, 0.7, 1.05, 1.508, 2.4

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