NCERT Class 4 Maths · Chapter 4

Thousands Around Us

Meet 1,000 and bigger numbers: place value (Th, H, T, O), regrouping, number lines, expanded form, and comparing numbers.

📌 What you’ll learn in this chapter
  • What one thousand looks like (10 hundreds)
  • Reading and writing 4-digit numbers
  • Regrouping: 10 ones = 1 ten, 10 tens = 1 hundred, 10 hundreds = 1 thousand
  • Expanded form and number names
  • Placing numbers on a number line, and comparing and ordering them

🎪 Let’s Begin: The Big Mela

At the village Dussehra mela, the ticket seller tied tickets in bundles: 10 tickets in a small bundle, 10 small bundles in a big packet (100 tickets), and 10 big packets in one box.

How many tickets are in one box? 10 × 100 = 1,000 tickets, which is one thousand!

🧱 Part 1: Building One Thousand

GroupMakesValue
10 Ones1 Ten10
10 Tens1 Hundred100
10 Hundreds1 Thousand1,000

After 999 comes 1,000. Then 1,001, 1,002 … 1,099, 1,100 … all the way to 9,999, the biggest 4-digit number.

Ways to make 1,000

900 + 100 · 800 + 200 · 750 + 250 · 600 + 400 · 999 + 1

💡 Quick trick To find what goes with 760 to make 1,000: 760 → 800 needs 40, and 800 → 1,000 needs 200. So the answer is 40 + 200 = 240.

🔢 Part 2: Place Value

Take the number 3,452 (the number of trees planted in a district):

Thousands (Th)Hundreds (H)Tens (T)Ones (O)
3452
  • Expanded form: 3,000 + 400 + 50 + 2
  • In words: Three thousand four hundred fifty-two
⚠️ Common mistake: the missing zero “Seven thousand twenty-four” written as 724 ❌
✅ There are 0 hundreds, so write a 0 in that place: 7,024. A 4-digit number always has 4 digits!

Regrouping extra ones and tens

2 Tens and 17 Ones: 17 ones = 1 ten + 7 ones. So it’s 3 tens + 7 ones = 37.

1 Hundred, 13 Tens and 5 Ones: 13 tens = 1 hundred + 3 tens. So it’s 2 hundreds + 3 tens + 5 ones = 235.

📏 Part 3: The Number Line

On a number line, numbers get bigger as you go right. To place 2,375 on a line marked 2,300 and 2,400, find the halfway point (2,350), then go a little further.

Counting on: +1 → 1,899, 1,900, 1,901 · +10 → 2,785, 2,795, 2,805 · +100 → 4,650, 4,750, 4,850

⚖️ Part 4: Comparing Numbers

  1. More digits = bigger number (1,024 > 982).
  2. Same number of digits? Compare from the left: thousands first, then hundreds, and so on.

Compare 3,102 and 3,012: the thousands are the same (3 = 3). In the hundreds, 1 > 0. So 3,102 > 3,012.

Increasing order = smallest to largest · Decreasing order = largest to smallest

✏️ Practice Time

Try these on your own first, then check your answer below each question.

Q1. Write in digits: Four thousand six hundred nine.
✅ Answer4,609
Q2. Write the expanded form of 8,075.
✅ Answer8,000 + 70 + 5
Q3. What is 5 Tens and 23 Ones?
✅ Answer50 + 23 = 73
Q4. Put in increasing order: 5,210 · 5,012 · 5,120 · 5,201
✅ Answer5,012 < 5,120 < 5,201 < 5,210
Q5. What is 1 more than 3,999? And 10 more than 6,495?
✅ Answer4,000 and 6,505

📘 NCERT Textbook Activity Help

Hints and answers for the activities in the textbook, page by page. Try each one yourself before looking at the answer!

Pages 39–41 · Langar donations

Numbers from different forms

✅ Answer4 Ones + 7 Tens = 74 · 100 − 7 = 93 · Twelve = 12 · 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 50 · Halfway between 60 and 70 = 65 · Ten more than 312 = 322
Time slots: most people came in the slot with 508, and the least came in the slot with 52.
Pages 41–42 · Let Us Do

3-digit numbers and sequences

✅ Answer 1(a): 333, 337, 373, 377, 733, 737, 773, 777. Circle 333 (smallest) and cross out 777 (largest).
1(b) (sample answers): 305, 350, 358, 380, 503, 538 (all less than 550)
Q2: Find the jump first: 787 → 788 is +1 · 933 → 934 is +1 · 679 → 689 is +10 · 338 → 348 is +10 · 367 → 567 in two steps is +100. Continue the pattern forwards and backwards.
Page 43 · Community lunch

How many people came?

✅ AnswerThe numbers go up to 1,100, so 1,100 people came. After 999 comes 1,000 (the 1,000th person), then 1,001, 1,002, 1,003…
Page 44 · Range of numbers

Which range fits?

✅ AnswerSample answers (yours may differ): teachers in school → 10 to 50 · tables in the classroom → 10 to 50 · pages in a maths book → 100 to 200 · books in a library → more than 1,000 · leaves on a plant → 10 to 50 · ants in an anthill → more than 1,000 · fingers in your classroom → 200 to 500 · leaves on a tree → more than 1,000 · children in the village → more than 1,000.
Page 47 · Break up 1,000

How much more to 1,000?

✅ Answer(a) 100 (b) 200 (c) 150 (d) 240 (e) 600
(f) Pairs that make 1,000: 670 + 330 · 895 + 105 · 830 + 170 · 750 + 250 · 980 + 20 · 770 + 230 · 951 + 49
Pages 48–50 · Grouping and regrouping

Ones, Tens, and Hundreds

✅ Answer(b) 23 Ones = 2 Tens + 3 Ones = 23 (c) 1 Ten and 27 Ones = 3 Tens + 7 Ones = 37 (e) 11 Tens and 14 Ones = 1 Hundred + 2 Tens + 4 Ones = 124 (f) 1 Hundred, 12 Tens and 14 Ones = 2 Hundreds + 3 Tens + 4 Ones = 234
Let Us Solve: (a) 45 (b) 39 (c) 350 (d) 860 (e) 101 (f) 173 (g) 352 (h) 200 (i) 337
Pages 51–54 · Beyond 1,000

Tokens, sequences, and the slider

✅ AnswerFor the token table, count the 1000s, 100s, 10s, and 1s, then write the number. For example: 1,000 + 1 + 1 = 1,002 (one thousand two) · 1,005 (one thousand five) · 1,000 + 100 = 1,100 · 3,000 + 0 + 10 + 9 = 3,019.
Sequences: count forwards and backwards by 1, e.g. …1,025, 1,026, 1,027, 1,028, 1,029… and …2,007, 2,008, 2,009, 2,010…
Slider: (a) 1,896 (b) 2,795 (c) 3,367 (d) 5,638 (e) 6,507
Let Us Think: Both are wrong. Ram’s number should be 7,024, and Richa’s should be 5,603. A 0 must hold the empty place.
Page 55 · Number line

Between 2,226 and 3,226

✅ AnswerCircle 2,236, 3,126, 3,216. (3,316 and 3,236 are too big, and 2,216 is too small.) Place the other numbers by first finding the two marked numbers they fall between.
Page 56 · Arrow cards and Find Me

Expanded form and number grid

✅ Answer4,085 uses the cards 4000, 80, and 5 → 4,000 + 80 + 5 → four thousand eighty-five. (There is no hundreds card, so 0 holds that place.)
Find Me (reading left to right or top to bottom): 1. 3,782 goes down from the 3 in the top row (7th column) 2. 2,576 is in row 2 and row 3 3. 2,222 (row 4) 4. Smallest, e.g. 1,008 (going down) 5. Largest, e.g. 9,672 (going down the last column) 6. 5,010 7. e.g. 5,720 or 6,111 8. e.g. 1,234 or 6,534 (digits 1–6 only)
Page 57 · Let Us Solve

Tokens and comparing units

✅ Answer(b) 52 (c) 3 H + 14 T + 8 O = 448 (d) 12 H + 18 T + 2 O = 1,382 (e) 1 Th + 5 H + 10 T + 17 O = 1,617
2A: Bigger: 300, 6,000, 6,000 · 2B: Smaller: 2 Ones, 5 Tens, 7 Tens
Page 58 · Comparing plates used

Which month?

✅ AnswerFebruary 1,213 < March 2,121. For the other months, count the tokens (1000s, 100s, 10s, 1s) and write each number. The month whose number is bigger at the thousands place used more plates.
3,102 > 3,012 because the thousands are equal, and the hundreds place decides (1 > 0).
Pages 59–61 · Let Us Do

Ordering and filling digits

✅ Answer 1. (a) 2,190 < 2,910 (b) 7,087 < 7,088 (c) 1,009 < 9,001 (d) 982 < 1,024
2. ₹1,099 < ₹1,899 < ₹1,986
3. 4,064 (Hockley) < 4,814 (Rolton) < 5,114 (Bates) < 6,002 (Charlotte) < 7,805 (Mithali Raj)
4. K2 (8,611) > Kangchenjunga (8,586) > Nanda Devi (7,816) > Chaukhamba I (7,138) > Mullayanagiri (1,930) > Kalsubai (1,646) > Bailadila (1,276)
5. (a) 4,320 > 2,043 (b) 4,320 = 4,320 (c) 2,999 < 3,000 (d) 405 < 1,593 (e) = (f) 5,304 < 5,340
6. (sample answers) (a) 7503 < 7680 (b) 8530 < 8634 (c) 1201 < 5020
Challenge: 999 numbers (7,001 to 7,999)
Explore: There are 24 numbers. The largest is 7,432 and the smallest is 2,347. To be sure you have them all, fix the first digit (2, 3, 4, or 7) and list the 6 ways to arrange the other three.

👨‍👩‍👧 Tips for Parents

  • Read 4-digit numbers on bills, vehicle number plates, and calendars together.
  • Use play money: “Show ₹1,250 using ₹500, ₹100, and ₹50 notes.”
  • Ask: “Which is more, 2,099 or 2,909? Why?”
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