Mala Nataraj
The importance of a consideration of large numbers in primary and early secondary school should not be underestimated. A study of history of India (and of the Maya) reveals that contemplation of large numbers provided the impetus for a construction of place value number system. While today’s students do not have to create a number system they do need to understand its structure in order to develop number sense and operations and to progress to algebra. This can perhaps be done more quickly by contemplating on large numbers. This study examined and categorised Year 9 students’ responses to a questionnaire on large numbers. The results suggest that many students show competence in naming and using large numbers and some are in the process of thinking beyond their curriculum level.