Whole Numbers
31 free practice questions with explanations
31 free questions · instant explanations · no sign-up
PassNova has 31 free Functional Skills Maths L1 practice questions on Whole Numbers, each with a clear explanation. Practise them in the browser with instant feedback — 100% free, no sign-up, on any device. Updated for 2026.
Whole Numbers: example questions & answers
31 worked examples with answers and explanations below. Practise them in the browser with instant feedback on every answer.
What is the value of the digit 7 in the number 2,749?
- A7
- B70
- C700✓
- D7000
Answer: In 2,749, the 7 is in the hundreds place, so its value is 700.
Write the number eight thousand, three hundred and forty-two in figures.
- A8,342✓
- B8,324
- C8,423
- D8,432
Answer: Eight thousand (8000) + three hundred (300) + forty (40) + two (2) = 8,342.
Which of these numbers is the largest?
- A5,124
- B5,214
- C5,412
- D5,421✓
Answer: Compare digit by digit from the left. All four start with 5. Two have 4 hundreds (5,421 and 5,412), so compare their tens: 2 tens beats 1 ten, making 5,421 the largest.
What is 100 more than 2,456?
- A2,456
- B2,566
- C2,346
- D2,556✓
Answer: 2,456 + 100 = 2,556. Adding 100 increases the number in the hundreds place.
Round 3,847 to the nearest 10.
- A3,800
- B3,840
- C3,850✓
- D3,900
Answer: 3,847: Look at the units digit (7). Since 7 ≥ 5, round up. 3,847 rounds to 3,850.
Round 5,632 to the nearest 100.
- A5,600✓
- B5,630
- C5,700
- D6,000
Answer: 5,632: Look at the tens digit (3). Since 3 < 5, round down. 5,632 rounds to 5,600.
What is the value of 6 in the number 16,234?
- A6
- B60
- C600
- D6000✓
Answer: In 16,234, the 6 is in the thousands place, so its value is 6,000.
Arrange these numbers from smallest to largest: 1,234 | 1,243 | 1,324 | 1,423
- A1,234, 1,324, 1,243, 1,423
- B1,243, 1,234, 1,423, 1,324
- C1,423, 1,324, 1,243, 1,234
- D1,234, 1,243, 1,324, 1,423✓
Answer: Start with the smallest number and work up: 1,234 < 1,243 < 1,324 < 1,423.
What is 1,000 less than 4,567?
- A3,567✓
- B4,467
- C4,566
- D3,657
Answer: 4,567 - 1,000 = 3,567. Subtracting 1,000 decreases the thousands place by 1.
Round 7,249 to the nearest 100.
- A7,200✓
- B7,250
- C7,300
- D7,000
Answer: To round 7,249 to the nearest 100, look at the tens digit (4). Since 4 < 5, round down to 7,200.
How many tens are there in 340?
- A3
- B4
- C34✓
- D340
Answer: 340 ÷ 10 = 34. There are 34 tens in 340.
What is the value of the 4 in 24,576?
- A4
- B40
- C400
- D4000✓
Answer: In 24,576, the 4 is in the thousands place, so its value is 4,000.
Write four thousand and five in figures.
- A4,050
- B405
- C4,500
- D4,005✓
Answer: Four thousand (4000) and five (5) = 4,005. Note: no hundreds or tens, so zeros fill those places.
Which number is closest to 5,000?
- A5,149
- B4,899
- C5,051
- D4,950✓
Answer: Work out how far each number is from 5,000: 4,950 is 50 away, 5,051 is 51 away, 4,899 is 101 away and 5,149 is 149 away. The smallest gap is 50, so 4,950 is closest.
If a number rounds to 2,300 (to the nearest 100), which could it be?
- A2,249
- B2,251✓
- C2,350
- D2,400
Answer: 2,251 rounds to 2,300 (tens digit is 5, so round up). 2,249 rounds to 2,200; 2,350 rounds to 2,400; 2,400 rounds to 2,400.
What is 5,000 + 200 + 30 + 4?
- A5,234✓
- B5,243
- C5,324
- D5,342
Answer: 5,000 + 200 + 30 + 4 = 5,234. This is writing a number in expanded form.
How many hundreds are in 1,500?
- A5
- B15✓
- C150
- D1500
Answer: 1,500 ÷ 100 = 15. There are 15 hundreds in 1,500.
Which is the smallest number?
- A9,687
- B9,768
- C9,876
- D9,678✓
Answer: Compare digit by digit from the left. All start with 9. Two have 6 hundreds (9,678 and 9,687), so compare their tens: 7 tens is less than 8 tens, making 9,678 the smallest.
What is the expanded form of 3,456?
- A3000 + 400 + 50 + 6✓
- B3000 + 400 + 5 + 6
- C3000 + 40 + 5 + 6
- D300 + 400 + 50 + 6
Answer: 3,456 = 3 thousands + 4 hundreds + 5 tens + 6 ones = 3000 + 400 + 50 + 6.
Round 8,564 to the nearest 1,000.
- A9,000✓
- B8,564
- C8,500
- D8,000
Answer: 8,564: Look at the hundreds digit (5). Since 5 ≥ 5, round up to 9,000.
Four freezer temperatures are recorded: -5°C, -2°C, 0°C and 3°C. Which temperature is the coldest?
- A3°C
- B-5°C✓
- C-2°C
- D0°C
Answer: -5°C is the coldest because it is furthest to the left on a number line. The further below zero, the colder it is.
The temperature at dawn is -3°C. By midday it has risen by 8°C. What is the temperature at midday?
- A-11°C
- B5°C✓
- C-5°C
- D11°C
Answer: Start at -3 on a number line and move 8 places up: -3 + 8 = 5°C.
A freezer is at -5°C and its temperature drops by another 3°C. What is the new temperature?
- A8°C
- B-8°C✓
- C-2°C
- D2°C
Answer: Dropping means moving further down the number line: -5 - 3 = -8°C.
A town has a population of 248,650. What is this rounded to the nearest thousand?
- A248,700
- B248,000
- C249,000✓
- D250,000
Answer: Look at the hundreds digit, which is 6. Because it is 5 or more, round the thousands up: 248,650 becomes 249,000.
The temperature at midnight is −4°C. By midday it has risen by 11 degrees. What is the temperature at midday?
- A−15°C
- B15°C
- C−7°C
- D7°C✓
Answer: Start at −4 and count up 11: four degrees takes you to 0, and the remaining seven take you to 7°C. As a sum, −4 + 11 = 7.
A freezer is set to −18°C. The kitchen it stands in is at 21°C. What is the difference between the two temperatures?
- A3 degrees
- B39 degrees✓
- C37 degrees
- D29 degrees
Answer: From −18 up to 0 is 18 degrees, and from 0 up to 21 is another 21 degrees. 18 + 21 = 39 degrees. Subtracting a negative gives the same result: 21 − (−18) = 39.
Four houses sold for £305,090, £350,900, £359,000 and £350,009. Which list shows the prices in order, starting with the lowest?
- A£350,009, £305,090, £350,900, £359,000
- B£305,090, £350,009, £350,900, £359,000✓
- C£305,090, £350,900, £350,009, £359,000
- D£305,090, £350,009, £359,000, £350,900
Answer: Compare the hundred-thousands, then the ten-thousands, then the thousands. £305,090 is lowest. Of the two that start 350, £350,009 is smaller than £350,900. £359,000 is the highest.
A stadium holds 62,500 people. The attendance at a match is 48,275. How many seats are empty?
- A24,225
- B13,225
- C14,335
- D14,225✓
Answer: Subtract the attendance from the capacity: 62,500 − 48,275 = 14,225 empty seats.
A booking fee is worked out as 6 + 4 × 5 pounds. Using the correct order of operations, what is the fee?
- A£15
- B£50
- C£29
- D£26✓
Answer: Multiplication is done before addition. 4 × 5 = 20, then 6 + 20 = 26, so the fee is £26. Adding first would give 10 × 5 = 50, which is the common mistake.
A square display is made of 12 rows with 12 tiles in each row. How many tiles are there altogether?
- A124
- B144✓
- C24
- D48
Answer: This is 12 squared: 12 × 12 = 144 tiles. Adding 12 and 12 gives 24, which counts only two of the rows.
A bank account is overdrawn and shows a balance of −£35. A payment of £120 is then paid in. What is the new balance?
- A£85✓
- B−£85
- C£155
- D£95
Answer: The first £35 of the payment clears the overdraft and brings the balance to £0. The rest is £120 − £35 = £85, so the new balance is £85.