What is Place Value?
Imagine you have numbers like 4, 5, 6, or even bigger numbers like 234 or 5,678.
Have you ever thought about how we know what each digit means?
That’s where place value comes in!
Place value tells us the value of each digit based on where it is in a number.
For example:
In 56, the digit 5 is in the tens place – it means 50.
In 56, the digit 6 is in the ones place – it means 6.
So, 56 = 50 + 6.
Why Do We Need Place Value?
If we didn’t have place value, numbers would be confusing!
For example:
The digit 2 can mean 2, 20, 200, or even 2000.
It all depends on its place.
Example:
In 32, the 2 means 2 ones.
In 324, the 2 means 20 (tens).
In 2,345, the 2 means 2000 (thousands).
So, place value is like a house system where each digit has its own “room” (place).
Place Value Chart (The Number Houses)
To understand place value, let’s use a chart.
Each place is like a house that holds a digit.
Place Value Chart (basic):
Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones
Ones place – last digit
Tens place – second last digit
Hundreds place – third digit from right
Thousands place – fourth digit from right
Example: Number = 3,482
Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones
3 4 8 2
3 = 3 thousands = 3000
4 = 4 hundreds = 400
8 = 8 tens = 80
2 = 2 ones = 2
Together: 3000 + 400 + 80 + 2 = 3482
Ones, Tens, and Hundreds (The Building Blocks)
Let’s break it into smaller pieces:
Ones Place
The rightmost digit.
It shows “single units.”
Example: In 47, the digit 7 is in the ones place – value = 7.
Tens Place
The second digit from right.
1 ten = 10 ones.
Example: In 47, the digit 4 is in the tens place – value = 40.
Hundreds Place
The third digit from right.
1 hundred = 10 tens = 100 ones.
Example: In 347, the digit 3 is in the hundreds place – value = 300.
Example: Number = 472
2 in ones = 2
7 in tens = 70
4 in hundreds = 400
So, 472 = 400 + 70 + 2.
Thousands and Beyond
Numbers can get bigger!
After hundreds, we move to thousands.
Thousands – 1000
Ten Thousands – 10,000
Lakhs and Millions (for very big numbers).
Example: Number = 25,678
Ten Thousands Thousands Hundreds Tens Ones
2 5 6 7 8
2 = 20,000
5 = 5,000
6 = 600
7 = 70
8 = 8
Together: 20,000 + 5,000 + 600 + 70 + 8 = 25,678
Expanded Form
Place value helps us write numbers in expanded form (breaking them into parts).
Example:
Number = 3,482
Expanded = 3000 + 400 + 80 + 2
Example:
Number = 906
Expanded = 900 + 0 + 6
Expanded form makes it easy to “see” the place value of each digit.
Fun with Place Value Using Objects
We can use real-life objects to learn place value:
Ones – single blocks (like 1 cube)
Tens – stick of 10 cubes
Hundreds – a flat of 100 cubes
Thousands – a big cube of 1000
Example:
Number = 243
2 hundreds = 2 flats of 100
4 tens = 4 sticks of 10
3 ones = 3 small cubes
