Place values grow tenfold to the left
Each place is 10 times the place to its right.
The digits of 281
In 281, the 2 is worth 200, the 8 is worth 80 and the 1 is worth 1.
A place is worth how many times the place just to its right?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Each place value is 10 times the one immediately to its right and 10 times smaller than the one to its left: 10 ones make 1 ten, 10 tens make 1 hundred, and so on.
The digits of 281
In 281, the 2 is worth 200, the 8 is worth 80 and the 1 is worth 1.
A place is worth how many times the place just to its right?
- 2 times
- 10 times
- 100 times
Slide the digit
Slide the digit one place left, then one place right. Watch its value.
Ten times, ten times
One place to the left makes the value 10 times bigger. One place to the right makes it 10 times smaller.
Each place value is 10 times the one immediately to its right, and 10 times smaller than the one to its left: 10 ones make 1 ten, 10 tens make 1 hundred, and so on.
- 10 of these | make 1 of these
- 10 ones | 1 ten
- 10 tens | 1 hundred
- 10 hundreds | 1 thousand
Notes
Each place is 10 times the place to its right. 10 ones make 1 ten, 10 tens make 1 hundred, 10 hundreds make 1 thousand.
Check yourself
How many tens make 1 hundred?
Answer: 10
10 tens make 1 hundred.
How many tens make 1 thousand?
Answer: 100
1 thousand = 10 hundreds = 10 × 10 tens = 100 tens.
In 5,555, the 5 in the hundreds place is worth how many times the 5 in the tens place?
The 3 in 3,000 is worth how many hundreds?
Answer: 30 hundreds
3 thousands = 3 × 10 hundreds = 30 hundreds.
- 10 times — correct. Yes! 500 is 10 times 50.
- 5 times. The digits are the same, but the places are 10 times apart: 500 and 50.
- 100 times. That would be two places apart. Hundreds and tens are next to each other.