The idea in brief. Fill the greatest place subject to every clue; list possibilities systematically when more than one is possible. Zero cannot start a four-digit number. Check the odd or even condition before choosing the remaining places. In the lesson. Earlier, we compared numbers place by place, starting from the thousands. Today, we use digit cards to make the greatest or smallest number that fits a clue. Put a digit that fits the clue in the ones place first, then fill the other places from the thousands.
Lesson video, with the working
Making a number from clues
4 min 18 s
The film teaches 3 questions in turn. Each question shows first; its working is written as the film explains it.
Question 1 of 8 · Basic · free to tryUse each digit 2, 4, 0 and 7 once to make a four-digit number. Put 7 in the…Use each digit 2, 4, 0 and 7…
Use each digit 2, 4, 0 and 7 once to make a four-digit number. Put 7 in the thousands place, 0 in the hundreds place and 4 in the tens place. What number is made?
How do P3 children solve digit card number questions?
On this page children use digit cards and clues to make the greatest or smallest 4-digit number that fits, such as the greatest even number.
What your child learns here
On this page children use digit cards and clues to make the greatest or smallest 4-digit number that fits, such as the greatest even number. It applies the Primary 3 outcomes on place value and on comparing numbers, together with odd and even numbers from Primary 2.
Know that the thousands place matters most, so the greatest number puts the largest card on the left and the smallest number puts the smallest allowed card there.
Recognise that an even number ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8, and an odd number ends in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9.
Choose the ones digit first when the clue is about odd or even, then fill the other places from the thousands.
Know that a 4-digit number cannot start with 0.
Check the finished number against every clue, including an upper or lower limit.
Does the answer make sense?
When the answer is a 4-digit number built from cards, every card appears exactly once and the thousands digit is never 0. If the clue says odd or even, your child can look at the last digit alone, and a limit such as between 4300 and 4700 can be read from the first two digits.
How to practise these questions
The Basic questions train turning simple clues about each place into a 4-digit number. The Intermediate questions add clues that limit the choices, such as building the greatest or smallest number possible from a set of digits. When the clues tangle, watch the solution film for that question with your child and return to it later from Revision.
Questions parents ask
Are digit card questions in the P3 syllabus? The syllabus does not name digit cards. These questions apply two Primary 3 outcomes, place values and comparing and ordering numbers, together with odd and even numbers from Primary 2. That is why this page sits in the numbers chapter.
Can 0 be the last digit of an even number? Yes. 0 is an even digit, so a number ending in 0, such as 3570, is even. The only place 0 cannot go is the start of a 4-digit number.
How do I explain the greatest number to my P3 child? The thousands place is worth the most, so the largest card goes there, then the next largest in the hundreds, and so on. When there is an odd or even clue, place the ones digit first and then fill the other places in that order.
