🧠 What Is Place Value?

Download the printable worksheet!

🔍 How to Solve the Problems

• Look at the digit in the number and think about its place:

  • Is it in the hundreds, tens, or ones place?

  • For example, in 452, the 4 is in the hundreds, so it means 400.

• When asked to write a number in expanded form, break it apart by place value:

  • Example: 309 = 300 + 0 + 9

• To compare numbers, check the digits starting from the left (hundreds place).

  • Bigger digit = Bigger number

• For place value charts, write each digit in the correct column:

  • Example: 583
    Hundreds = 5, Tens = 8, Ones = 3

• To match a number to its word form, read it out loud and listen to how it sounds:

  • Example: 642 = “Six hundred forty-two”

🧠 What Is Place Value?

Every number is made of digits, and each digit has a special place that tells us how big it really is.

Let’s look at a number together:
358

• The 3 is in the hundreds place — it means 300.

• The 5 is in the tens place — it means 50.

• The 8 is in the ones place — it just means 8.

So, 358 really means:  300 + 50 + 8

🧩 How to Place the Digits:

When you see a number like 426, here’s how you figure out where each digit goes:

• Look at the first digit on the left → That’s the hundreds

• The middle digit → That’s the tens

• The last digit on the right → That’s the ones

✨ Fun Tip:

Say the number out loud slowly:
“Four hundred twenty-six.”
You can hear the hundreds, tens, and ones in your voice!

✏️ Use scratch paper if needed to work out your thinking, and double-check your answers when you’re done! You’re practicing to get stronger and faster — great job!