Which list shows the numbers 3, 17, 9, and 5 in ascending order?
A17, 9, 5, 3
B3, 9, 17, 5
C3, 5, 9, 17
D5, 9, 17, 3
Ascending order means from smallest to largest. Reading the numbers off a number line from left to right: 3 is first, then 5, then 9, then 17. Option A is descending. Options B and D are partially ordered but not fully correct — 17 appears before 5 in B, and 3 is stranded at the end in D.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
A student orders 4, 7, 12, and 19 and writes: 4, 12, 7, 19. What mistake was made?
A19 should come before 12
B4 should be last, not first
C7 and 12 are swapped — 7 is less than 12 and must come first in ascending order
DThe sequence is correct
In ascending order, each next number must be larger than the one before it. In the student's list: 4 → 12 is fine (increasing), but then 12 → 7 goes down, which breaks the rule. Since 7 < 12, the 7 must appear before the 12. Correct order: 4, 7, 12, 19.
Question 3 True / False
On a number line, a number that appears further to the right is always greater than any number to its left.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
True. The number line is arranged so that numbers increase from left to right without exception. This is exactly what makes the number line a reliable tool for ordering: position directly encodes relative size. Any number to the right is larger; any number to the left is smaller.
Question 4 True / False
In descending order, the smallest number appears first.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
False. Descending order goes from largest to smallest, so the largest number appears first and the smallest appears last. Ascending order (smallest to largest) has the smallest number first. Mixing up these two directions is a common error.
Question 5 Short Answer
How does the number line help you put a group of numbers in order without comparing every possible pair?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Each number occupies a fixed position on the number line based on its size. To order a group, you locate each number on the line and read them off from left to right (ascending) or right to left (descending). The line holds all comparisons at once — position is magnitude, so the ordering is already built in.
The number line encodes order spatially. Instead of comparing each pair individually, you simply find where each number lives on the line and read the sequence. The line acts as a pre-sorted list by design.