Sorting and Ordering

Put these numbers in order from smallest to biggest: 5, 1, 3. What comes first?

• A0
• B1✓
• C3
• D5

Answer: 1 is the smallest number, so it comes first when ordering from smallest to biggest.

Order these from biggest to smallest: 2, 8, 4. What comes first?

• A2
• B4
• C1
• D8✓

Answer: 8 is the biggest number, so it goes first when ordering from biggest to smallest.

You want to sort words A-Z: banana, apple, cherry. Which word comes first?

• Aapple✓
• Bbanana
• Ccherry
• Ddate

Answer: 'Apple' starts with A, which comes first in the alphabet, so it is first.

Sort these animals from shortest to tallest: mouse, giraffe, dog. Which is first?

• Adog
• Bgiraffe
• Cmouse✓
• Dcat

Answer: A mouse is the shortest, so it comes first when ordering from shortest to tallest.

These numbers are sorted smallest to biggest: 2, 4, 6, 8. Where should the number 5 go?

• ABetween 6 and 8
• BAfter 8
• CBefore 2
• DBetween 4 and 6✓

Answer: 5 is bigger than 4 but smaller than 6, so it fits between them.

Why do people sort things, like books by size or name?

• ATo break them
• BSo they are easier to find✓
• CSo nobody can use them
• DTo make them harder to find

Answer: Sorting puts things in order, which makes them much easier to find later.

Put the days in order. Which day comes right after Monday?

• AFriday
• BWednesday
• CTuesday✓
• DSunday

Answer: In the ordered days of the week, Tuesday comes right after Monday.

Sort these by how many legs, fewest first: spider (8 legs), dog (4 legs), bird (2 legs). Which comes first?

• Adog
• Bbird✓
• Cspider
• Dsnail

Answer: A bird has the fewest legs with 2, so it comes first when ordering fewest first.