This understanding involves interpreting one whole-number quantity as greater than, less than, or equal to another by an additive difference, identifying whether the unknown is the larger amount, smaller amount, or difference, and representing the relationship with addition or subtraction equations, bar models, or number lines. Problems may involve numbers through 1,000,000 and multiple steps; multiplicative or ratio comparisons, negative numbers, and comparisons involving fractions or decimals are not included.
A comparison problem asks how two amounts are related. Look for words such as more than, fewer than, or how many more.
Example:
Mia has stickers. She has more stickers than Leo. How many stickers does Leo have?
Step 1: Identify the larger and smaller amounts.
Mia has more, so:
Step 2: Write an equation.
The larger amount is the smaller amount plus the difference:
Because Leo’s amount is unknown, subtract the difference from the larger amount:
Step 3: Answer the question.
Leo has stickers.
Check: Add the difference back:
The answer makes sense because Mia has more stickers than Leo.
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