Question

Alisa says it is easier to compare the numbers in Set A (45,760 and 1,025,680) than the numbers in Set B (492,111 and 409,867). What is one way you could construct an argument justifying whether Alisa's conjecture is true?

Answer 1

To construct the argument, one could look at the value of the largest digit. In Set A, the largest-valued digit (1) has a value of one million, while the 4 in the other value is only valued at 40,000. Set B has two 4 values that are both worth 400,000, which will end up requiring a second comparison to tease out the larger value.