Suppose you are comparing two numbers that are greater than 1,000. You want to find the smaller of the numbers. How many pairs of digits might you have to compare before you have your answer? Explain.

as many as 4.

If one number has fewer digits than the other, it's smaller.

The number with the smaller first digit is smaller.
If the first digits are the same, go on (3987,3762)

similarly for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th digits