Place Value

The numbers we use today are based on the decimal system. It is based on ten symbols:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

By arranging these ten symbols, we are able to write any number. To do this we must arrange the digits in a particular order. This is known as “Place Value”.

Any number can be made up from digits.

The number one has only one digit: 1. The number 73 is made from two digits: 7 and 3

The order in which the digits in this number are arranged is important. If we swapped the digits around, we would get a different number: We would get 37 instead.

In the table above, the value of each digit can be found by reading from the top of the table.

The 7 is in the ones column and so this digit is worth seven ones.

In the number 24, the two is in the tens column and so it represents two lots of ten. The four is in the ones column and so it has a value of four ones. Two tens and four ones gives a total value of 24.