What is Place Value?

Understanding Place Value

Place value is all about how much a digit is worth in a number. This value depends on where the digit is located within the number.

Examples of Place Value

For example, in the number 507, the digit 5 is worth 500 because it’s in the hundreds column. In the number 354, the digit 5 is worth five tens or fifty because it’s in the tens column. So, the value of a digit depends on its position within the number.

A Fun Game to Practice Place Value

You can practice place value with a simple game. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose how many digits you want to work with (e.g., three-digit numbers).
2. Each player selects three different digits.
3. Players secretly decide where to place these digits (in the hundreds, tens, or ones column).
4. The goal of the game is not to make the biggest number but to have a digit with the highest value.
5. Players reveal their numbers and determine the value of the digit they placed in the same column (e.g., the tens column).
6. The player with the digit of the highest value wins the round.

Example of the Game

For instance, player one might have 513, and player two might have 351. Then, they reveal one of the cards, like a 1. Player one’s 1 is worth 10 (because it’s in the tens column), while player two’s 1 is worth only 1 (in the ones column). Player one wins the round by having the digit with the highest value.

Game Continues

The game continues with players choosing new numbers, placing their digits in different columns, and determining the value of their chosen digits to see who can win each round.