Estimating Populations Matching Activity | How Many Times Larger or Smaller
Give students practice comparing very large numbers with this Estimating Populations Matching Activity. Students use a population reference sheet to estimate how many times larger or smaller one country’s population is compared to another.
This activity includes country and world population information for students to reference as they work. Students compare two populations, estimate the relationship between them, and match each problem card to the correct comparison.
Two card sets are included for flexibility. You can use the correctly matched cards as a reference, practice set, or scaffolded version. The incorrectly matched cards are ready for students to cut apart, sort, and match on their own.
Use this activity for independent practice, small groups, stations, partner work, or whole-class review.
What’s Included:
• Population reference sheet
• 20 population comparison problems
• Correctly matched card set
• Incorrectly matched card set for student sorting
• Blank answer sheet with workspace
• Completed answer key
• Print-ready student pages
Perfect for:
• Estimating populations
• Comparing large numbers
• How many times larger or smaller
• Real-world number sense
• Scientific notation connections
• 8th grade expressions and equations
• CCSS 8.EE.A.3
• Math centers
• Partner practice
• Stations
• Review
Comparing populations helps students build number sense with very large values and understand what it means for one quantity to be several times larger or smaller than another.
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This resource is for one teacher only. Additional teachers will need to purchase their own license. You may use this resource with your own students in your classroom or password-protected learning platform.
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