Class 5 Maths Chapter 1, We the Travellers — I, opens NCERT’s Grade 5 Maths Mela textbook (2026-27) by exploring the history of human travel and vehicle counts across states to introduce 5-digit and 6-digit place value (Ten Thousands and Lakhs), number lines, rounding and number puzzles.
What Class 5 Mathematics Chapter 1 Covers
Reading & Writing Large Numbers up to Lakhs builds numbers from 1,000 to 10,000 (Ten Thousand) and 1,00,000 (One Lakh) using place-value tokens, expanded form and Indian comma placement.
Nearest 10s, 100s and 1,000s & King’s Horses Puzzle approximates distances and populations to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand on number lines, compares large numbers, and solves the 18-horse stable arrangement puzzle.
Travel and puzzles: the chapter compares how far people travel in a day: 3–5 km on foot, 10–15 km on horseback, 12–20 km by cycle and 40–60 km by motorbike, and how many people a bicycle, car, minibus or aeroplane (180) can carry. Children round numbers to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand (the rabbit at 2,346 goes to 2,000), arrange town populations such as 65,232 and 53,231 in order, and solve the river-crossing puzzle with a lion, a sheep and a bundle of grass, and the King’s Horses puzzle.
Exercises in Chapter 1
- Let Us Do, Let Us Think, and Let Us Solve practice exercises.
- Interactive number games, visual grids, and hands-on puzzles.
Read Class 5 Mathematics Chapter 1 Online
More Chapters
- Next: Chapter 2: Fractions
- Hindi medium: Class 5 Maths Chapter 1 PDF in Hindi (Ganit Mela)
- All Mathematics chapters and the other Class 5 books: Class 5 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
How many thousands make one lakh in the Indian place value system?
100 thousands (or 10 ten-thousands) make one lakh (1,00,000).
What is the main topic of Class 5 Maths Mela Chapter 1 ‘We the Travellers — I’?
Reading, writing, expanding, comparing and rounding large numbers up to 5 and 6 digits (Ten Thousands and Lakhs) using real-world travel and transport contexts.
What is 2,346 rounded to the nearest thousand?
2,000.