Greater Than Symbol in Maths: Tricks, Examples

Greater Than Symbol: The Greater Than Symbol is a basic mathematical symbol used to establish a relation between two values. ‘Greater Than’, ‘Less Than’ or ‘Equal to’ symbols are used to compare numbers and expressions. Also known as the ‘more than’, the greater than symbol signifies that two numbers are not equal and one is greater than the other. A commonly used way to use  to remember the greater than symbol is by the Alligator method: an alligator’s mouth always points towards the value that is larger.

If you are confused between the Greater Than Symbol and Less Than Symbol, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we have provided greater than and less than symbols, examples, uses and tricks to remember them easily in future. Read on to know more!

Greater Than Symbol

Greater Than Symbol is typically used to compare two numbers where the number is greater than the second number. The ‘Greater Than Symbol’ is represented as ‘>’. Greater Than Sign is used to understand the relation between two values and will help in understanding the ascending order or descending order of values or numbers.

Examples Of Greater Than Symbol

Let’s go through some examples to understand the use of the more than sign.

• 6 > 5 (6 is greater than 5)
• 1.5 > 1 (1.5 is greater than 1)
• – 0.5> – 0. 8 (-0.5 is greater than -0.8)

The list of symbols, descriptions and examples are given below:

Greater Than Less Than Symbols

Students usually get confused between the ‘Greater Than’ and ‘Less Than’ symbols and to make things clear, let us go through the use of the symbols along with an example from below:

Greater Than Symbol:

→ 10 > 8

Less Than Symbol

→ 8 < 10

How To Remember Greater Than Symbol?

You can remember the greater than symbol using the alligator analogy. Compare the greater than and less than symbol with the open mouth of an alligator or crocodile. Remember that the open end of the mouth always faces a larger value and the end of the mouth will point towards the lower value. This is applicable for both greater than and lower than symbols. Check the image below to understand the analogy :

Alligator Analogy for Greater Than Sign

Alligator Analogy for Less Than Sign

Solved Examples On Greater Than Symbol

Let’s go through some solved examples to understand the use of greater than sign from below:

Example 1: Fill in the blanks with the suitable sign:

1. 50 _____ 80
2. 54 _____ 51
3. 12 + 13 ____ 25
4. 90 – 20 ____ 50

Solution:

1. 50 < 80
2. 54 > 51
3. 25 = 25
4. 70 > 50

Example 2: Arrange the following numbers in descending order using the greater than sign.
-20, -30, 3, 32, 45, 0.1
Solution: We know that, for the negative numbers, the number with a greater numeral value is less than the number with lesser numerical value.
Therefore, -20 is greater than -30. Now arranging the numbers using greater than sign, we get the following:
45>32>3>0.1> -20>-30

Study Materials From Embibe

Make use of the following study materials of Embibe which will definitely help you in your exams:

Frequently Asked Questions on Greater Than Symbol In Mathematics

Q1. How do I type the greater than symbol?
Ans: Greater Than is denoted by the symbol ‘>‘.

Q2. What do you mean by greater than symbol?
Ans: Greater Than Sign is used when we have to compare two values, in which one value is greater than another.

Q3. Which is greater 0.5 or 0.25?
Ans: 0.5 is greater than 0.25. Symbolically, it is represented as 0.5>0.25.

Q4. Which is greater 0.1 or -0.1? How do you express it mathematically?
Ans: 0.1 is greater than -0.1. The mathematical expression for this is 0.1> -0.1.

Q5. How do you remember less than, greater than?
Ans: Greater Than symbol is written as ‘>’ and Less Than symbol is represented as ‘<‘. In order to remember the symbols with ease, the alligator analogy is widely used. If we compare the ‘>’ symbol with the open mouth of an alligator, then the open end of the mouth will always face a greater value.

Q6. What is a Greater than or equal to symbol?
Ans: In linear inequalities, greater than or equal to the symbol is used when we are uncertain if the one value is greater than or equal to another value. It is represented by the symbol ‘≥’. In the same way, less than or equal to a symbol (≤) is used to represent when one quantity is either smaller than or equal to another quantity.