Really big numbers

Hello, and welcome to Myriora Maths! Here's a big number. How do you read it? Let's find out!

When do we meet big numbers? Wembley Stadium holds ninety thousand people. And about nine million people live in London. To read numbers like these, we need a simple trick.

Big numbers are easy if we split them into groups of three. Start at the right-hand end. Count three digits, and leave a small space. Then three more, and another space. Now the number is in groups.

Each group has a name. The group on the right is the ones. The middle group is the thousands. And the group on the left is the millions. Inside every group, we read hundreds, tens and ones, just like a small number.

Now read each group, and then say its name. One million. Two hundred and four thousand. Fifty. Altogether: one million, two hundred and four thousand and fifty!

But why groups of three? Because every group has the same three places: hundreds, tens and ones. Ten hundreds make one thousand. And a thousand thousands make one million. So the same three places come back again and again, with a new name each time.

Let's try one together. How do you read this number? Split it into groups of three first. Say it out loud!

The millions group says three. The thousands group says five hundred. The ones group is all zeros, so we don't say it at all! Three million, five hundred thousand. Well done if you said that!

Now let's go the other way, and write a number. Two million, thirty thousand and six. Draw three groups. The millions group gets a two. The thousands group gets thirty: zero, three, zero. The ones group gets six: zero, zero, six. Every empty place gets a zero!

Here's a question that catches lots of people. How do you write forty thousand and five, in digits? Some people write four, zero, zero, five. But that's only four thousand and five! The ones group always needs three digits: zero, zero, five. So forty thousand and five is four, zero, zero, zero, five.

Your turn! Which card shows six million, seventy thousand and eight? Pick the right card. You've got fifteen seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! The millions group gets a six. The thousands group gets seventy: zero, seven, zero. The ones group gets eight: zero, zero, eight. So it's six million, seventy thousand and eight!

Quick review. Split big numbers into groups of three, starting from the right. Read each group, then say its name: millions, then thousands. And every empty place gets a zero. See you next time!