Comparing & Ordering Notes & Questions | Class 3 Reasoning | Drishti OS

Comparing & Ordering

What you'll learn

Use clues like "taller than" or "older than" to build a full order.
Find who is first, last, or in the middle of a group.
Chain multiple clues together to rank everyone correctly.

Key concepts

Level 1 — Core idea

Verbal: "A is taller than B. B is taller than C." This means the order from tallest to shortest is A, then B, then C.

Symbolic: If A > B and B > C, then A > B > C (A is greatest, C is least).

Visual: Picture three friends standing on steps of different heights — the clues tell you which step each friend stands on.

Level 2 — Going deeper

With four people and three clues, line them up one clue at a time. Write the order as a chain (A > B > C > D) so you can read off any position — tallest, shortest, or 2nd — directly.

NCERT anchor

NCERT Math Mela, Class 3 — Comparing lengths, heights and weights ("longer than", "heavier than") builds directly into this ordering skill.

Worked example

Amit is taller than Bina. Bina is taller than Chetan. Chetan is taller than Divya. Who is the shortest?

Step 1 — Order from tallest to shortest: Amit > Bina > Chetan > Divya.
Step 2 — The last name in the chain is the shortest.
Answer: Divya

Ravi is older than Sonal. Sonal is older than Tara. Who is the second oldest?

Step 1 — Order from oldest to youngest: Ravi > Sonal > Tara.
Step 2 — The second name in the chain is 2nd oldest.
Answer: Sonal

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why	Fix
Reversing the order	Misreading "taller than"	The first name in each clue is always the greater one
Losing track with many clues	Too much to hold in memory	Write the chain down step by step: A > B > C > D
Confusing "oldest" with "youngest"	Rushed reading	Re-read the question word carefully before answering
Mixing up 2nd place with 2nd-last	Position counted from wrong end	Count from the correct end of the chain

Quick check

Priya is heavier than Karan. Karan is heavier than Neha. Who is the lightest?
Ishaan is faster than Jiya. Jiya is faster than Kabir. Who is the fastest?
Om is older than Priya. Priya is older than Neha. Who is 2nd oldest?
Stretch: Four friends are ranked A > B > C > D by height. Who is 3rd tallest?

Revision tip: Turn every clue into a chain with ">" signs before answering.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Comparing & Ordering.

Comparing & Ordering