Bigger or Smaller (Investigation)

In this chapter you have been choosing whether numbers are

< (less than) or > (greater than) other numbers.  

Find a partner and try this game for practice. The winner is the last person to write down a number!

Materials

• An empty playing board (you can make this yourself or use a template like this one)
• a coin, where heads means less than and tails means greater than

         and       

Get Ready

• Pick a maximum number (100 or 1000 might be best the first time you play) and a minimum number (0 might be best at first).
• Find the number half way between the maximum and minimum.  This is the middle number.
• Write all three numbers on their squares in the race track.  Put the minimum number at the start and the maximum number at the finish.

Game Rules

• Take turns tossing the coin.
• If you toss heads - write a number less than the last number written (or the middle number if you're starting off)
• If you toss tails - write a number greater than the last number written
• All numbers on the track must go in order.
• The last person who can write down a number is the winner!

Variations

• Change the maximum and minimum numbers.  
• Try new rules like "no even numbers," or "all numbers must be multiples of 5."
• Give it a fun spin, like "the winner is the player who puts 4 of their own numbers in a row."

Example Game

Player one tosses heads,  and would have to write a number that is less than the middle number. They write the number 30.

Player two tosses a tail.  They have to write a number that is bigger than 30, they could write in the 60 or 40 for example. 

 

or 

would both be acceptable.

Play continues until...

Player 2 just wrote down the number 46, player 1 tosses a smaller than, but there is no space for them to write in a number smaller than 46. So Player 2 is the winner!