Place Value
The number system is the core of maths. We use a base 10 number system which means we use ten different symbols to indicate counting. These ten symbols are called digits and they are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9.
When you use these digits to count, each digit has a number place that can accommodate only a certain fixed number of objects. This number place is called place value.
What is place value?
Every digit in a number has a place value.
Place value is the value represented by a digit in a number on the basis of its position in that number.
It is important that children understand that whilst a digit can be the same, its value depends on where it is in the number.
Eg: 3 in 30 represents tens, 3 in 300 represents hundreds, and 3 in 3000 represents thousands.
| Tens 3 | Ones 0 |
| Hundred 3 | Tens 0 | Ones 0 |
| Thousand 3 | Hundred 0 | Tens 0 | Ones 0 |
Place value is vital for students to identify a number and read it accurately. It also helps then arrange numbers in ascending and descending order.
Eg: 503 is five hundred and three. Now if I interchange the places of 5 and 3, it becomes 305 i.e Three hundred and five.
Place value, face value and expanded form:
A digit in a particular number has two values namely: Face value and Place value.
The face value of a digit is the digit itself irrespective of its place. The value attributed to a digit by virtue of its face is called face value. The value attributed to a digit by virtue of its place is called place value.
Numbers are usually read out using place values and not face values. Expanded form is a way to write the number as a sum of the place value of its digits.
Eg: In number 353, the place value of 5 is tens, the face value is 5 and the expanded form of 353is300+50+3.
How to teach place value?
Teaching through stories:
- When The Station Master Is Sick
- One With The Tallest Building
- When Cirha Is Kidnapped
- Uncle Bad And The Search Operation
Teaching through activities:
Odd one out: Write numbers on the chits with place values. Some will be wrong and some will be correct. Students will have to pick the odd one out of the given 4 chits.