Counting numbers

Q: There are 5 apples, 8 oranges, and 3 bananas. How many pieces of fruit in all?

16 — 5 + 8 + 3 = 16. When you add three numbers, do it two at a time: first 5 + 8 = 13, then 13 + 3 = 16.

Q: On the number line, which one is to the right of 3?

8 — Numbers get bigger as you move right on a number line. 8 is bigger than 3, so it sits to the right of 3.

Q: You have 2 groups of 10, and 4 more. How many is that in all?

24 — Two 10s make 20. Add the 4 left over and you get 24.

Q: On the bar graph, which bar is the longest? (apples 5, oranges 8, bananas 3, grapes 6)

Oranges — Oranges got 8 votes, more than anything else, so that bar is the longest.

Q: You had 8 oranges and ate 3 of them. How many are left?

5 — 8 − 3 = 5. Take away the ones you ate.

Where this is used

People who run a store are always asking, "How many are left?" If they count wrong, they run out of things to sell, or they end up with way too many. That is why grown-ups keep using counting every single day.

Key points

Turning a pile of things into a number

When there are 5 apples, we write "5". A good way to count is to touch each thing with your finger and say "1, 2, 3..." as you go, so you never count the same one twice. The picture below shows how many pieces of fruit there are, using one circle for each piece.

How many pieces of fruit

The number line

When we line numbers up along a straight line, we call it a number line. The farther right you go, the bigger the number gets. One look at a number line tells you which number is bigger.

8 sits to the right of 3, so 8 is the bigger number.

Make groups of 10

When there are a lot of things, put them into groups of 10. It makes counting much easier. Two groups of 10 plus 4 more is 24. Grown-ups count this way too.

Let's compare

To see which group has more, line them up side by side. A bar graph is made for exactly that: comparing which is more and which is less.

Our favorite fruit (Class 1-1)

Check yourself 5questions

Tap an option to check

Q1 There are 5 apples, 8 oranges, and 3 bananas. How many pieces of fruit in all?

Q2 On the number line, which one is to the right of 3?

Q3 You have 2 groups of 10, and 4 more. How many is that in all?

Q4 On the bar graph, which bar is the longest? (apples 5, oranges 8, bananas 3, grapes 6)

Q5 You had 8 oranges and ate 3 of them. How many are left?

Jobs that use this

Every job uses this. The ones below are just where it shows up most.

Grocery store manager $45k

Factory quality inspector $52k

Veterinarian (animal doctor) $100k

Grocery store manager$45k

Every day they count how many items sold and how many are left, then decide how many to order next. A counting mistake costs the store real money.

Maths used: CountingAdding and subtractingGraphs

Factory quality inspector$52k

They count the products that come off the line and write down how many are broken. Without those counts, nobody would notice that a machine has started going wrong.

Maths used: CountingTables and graphs

Veterinarian (animal doctor)$100k

At a farm they count whether all the animals are there and how many days of feed are left. If even one animal is missing, they go look for it right away.

Maths used: CountingArithmetic

Where this is used

Key points

Check yourself 5questions

Jobs that use this

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