What is place value?

Key points

describes the position of a in a number.
Numbers are part of everyday life. Understanding place value can help when writing and describing numbers and carrying out simple calculations without using a calculator.
Place value enables us to compare different values, eg to compare high scores when gaming.

describes the position of a digit in a number. It also gives the value of each digit in a number.

Whilst a digit in a number can be the same, its value depends on its position within the number.
Knowing the place value of each digit can help when comparing numbers.
The order of place value of digits in a number from right to left is: units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, a hundred thousands, etc.
Units are often referred to as ones. Eg, 34 has 3 tens and 4 units, or we could say 34 has 3 tens and 4 ones.

Example: place value

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In the number 3,410,593 each digit represents a different place value.
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The digit 3 has a value of 3 units or 3 (three).
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The digit 9 has a value of 9 tens or 90 (ninety).
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The digit 5 has a value of 5 hundreds or 500 (five hundred).
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The digit 0 has a value of 0 thousands.
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The digit 1 has a value of 1 ten thousands or 10,000 (ten thousand).
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The digit 4 has a value of 4 hundred thousands or 400,000 (four hundred thousand).
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The digit 3 has a value of 3 millions or 3,000,000 (three million).
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There are two of the same digits (3) in this number. However, they both have a different place value. The 3 at the beginning of the number has a value of 3,000,000 (three million). The 3 at the end of the number has a value of 3 (three units).

Question

Which even digit has the largest value in the number 34,659?

Practise place value

Activity: comparing and ordering numbers

Try this activity to practise recognising and comparing the place value of numbers.

Place value quiz

Practise what you've learned about place value with this quiz.

Real-world maths

Emma Raducanu hugging the tennis U.S. Open Championship trophy with a big grin. — Image caption,
Emma Raducanu celebrating her US Open win.

Place value is used in everyday life to compare numbers.

A sports presenter might compare the different amount of prize money won in a competition. In the 2021 US Open Tennis Championships, the winner received $2,500,000. The runner-up received $1,250,000

In athletics, a presenter might compare the different length races, eg The Olympic Games has a 1,500m race, a 5,000m race and a 10,000m race.

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