Math · Stage 3
Build the largest/smallest number from digits using clues
Give the biggest digit the biggest place — then let the clues (even, digit sum, a fixed digit, no leading zero) pin down the answer.
✦ Math📘 Stage 3 · S3⏱ ~11 min🧒 Ages 7–8★ Free to start
I can arrange a set of digits by place value to build the largest or smallest number, and use given clues (even/odd, digit sum, a fixed digit, no leading zero) to name a number.
📖
Kavi's Number Cards 🔢
Kavi finds three digit cards — 7, 4 and 2 🔢! "To make the biggest treasure number, I give the biggest digit the biggest place," hoots Kavi. "7 in the hundreds, then 4, then 2 → 742! Flip it around — smallest digit first — and I get the smallest: 247."
🎓
What your child will learn
1The biggest place does the mostA digit is worth more the bigger its place. In a 3-digit number the hundreds place is worth the most, then the tens, then the ones. Build 742: 7 flats, 4 rods, 2 cubes. Putting 7 in the hundreds makes the number as big as it can be.
2Sort the digits into their placesTo build the largest number from the cards 7, 4, 2, decide which place each digit should sit in. The biggest digit goes in the biggest place. Drop each card in the right box →
3Same digits, two very different numbersThe same three digits make a largest and a smallest number — it all depends on the order. Tap each card to see how the arrangement changes the value.
4Taller bar = bigger numberEvery arrangement of 7, 4, 2 is a different number. Line them up as bars: the tallest bar is the largest number, the shortest bar is the smallest.
🔍
A peek inside
Make the largest 3-digit number from the digits 5, 2, 8.
sort biggest → smallest: 8, 5, 2 → place left to right
Try this at home: From 3, 8, 1: largest = __ · smallest = __
Ready to play and learn?
Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.
Part of Math · Stage 3 · S3 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.