472 vs 425
Let's compare two numbers: four hundred seventy-two, and four hundred twenty-five. Which one is greater?
We line them up by place value — hundreds, tens, and ones.
Start with the hundreds. Four hundreds and four hundreds — they're the same!
When the hundreds tie, look at the tens. Seven tens versus two tens.
Seven tens is more than two tens, so four hundred seventy-two is the bigger number.
Now we record it. The greater-than symbol is like a hungry alligator — its open mouth always points to the BIGGER number.
So we open the mouth toward four-seventy-two and write the symbol between the numbers.
We read it out loud: four hundred seventy-two is greater than four hundred twenty-five.
Compare hundreds first, then tens, then ones — and point the alligator's mouth at the bigger number!