Contributor: Marlene Vogel. Lesson ID: 10230
Imagine drifting helplessly in space while Mission Control tries to find you! But you don't know enough about big numbers to tell them where you are! Learn place values and don't drift through math!
You are the commander of a space ship that has become disabled in orbit. Mission Control is trying to locate you with a satellite. They are calling off numbers that represent what they think is your distance from Earth. You need to tell them if their guess is too high, too low, or correct. Are you familiar with the place values millions, billions, and trillions? You'd better be!
Take a moment to reflect on the opening to this lesson.
Read this downloadable article, Telescope as Time Machine (SpacePlace.nasa.gov). Notice the references made to numbers in the millions, billions, and trillions! This packet includes activities to complete to further your knowledge about outer space.
On the journey to learning algebra, you need to refer to skills you have already learned and build upon them.
For example, when working with large numbers, it is necessary to know and use place value. You first learned place value in your 3rd- or 4th-grade math lessons. Now, you are going to build upon that skill with larger numbers and their place value.
You should be familiar with two of the five categories in place value: ones and thousands. Please refer to Figure 1-1 below:
(Figure 1-1)
By looking at Figure 1-1, you can see the number 9 is in the tens column, which means it represents 90 as the larger number.
As stated earlier in the lesson, you are now going to add to your knowledge of place value.
You may be familiar with the millions category.
Below is the place value chart with the millions, billions, and trillions categories added to it. Please refer to Figure 1-2 (A larger version of the Place Value Chart is available in Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.).
(Figure 1-2)
Try to identify some of the numbers in the newer parts of the place value chart.
At this point, you are probably asking yourself, “Why do I need to know this information?”
This is a good question because it shows you are trying to make sense — or think critically — about the lesson you are involved in and the skills you are learning.
Knowing place value helps you know and understand the names for numbers. Just like you learned the number 1 is the same as writing one when you were in kindergarten and first grade, it is just as important to learn the millions, billions, and trillions categories. Knowing the names for numbers:
Now, you are going to learn to write numbers in word form and in number-word form. It will be necessary to use the place value skills you are learning now in order to be successful in other math situations, such as rounding numbers.
It is important for you to understand some terms before you start working on any problems. Refer to Figure 1-2 while reading the following information:
Practice writing numbers in all three forms, using the Place Value Chart and Mission Control Exercise 1 documents (Downloadable Resources).
When you have finished exploring space, continue on to the Got It? section for some more educational (but fun!) activities!