What is a place value?

Place value is the principle that the position of a digit in a number determines its value. The 3 in 30 means three tens (30), while the 3 in 300 means three hundreds. It's the basis of our whole number system and of regrouping, big numbers and decimals.

Examples

• In 247, the 4 means 4 tens (40).
• In 5,063 the 0 is a placeholder for the hundreds.
• The 7 in 0.7 means seven tenths.

Quick facts

• Ten ones make one ten; ten tens make one hundred.
• A zero acts as a placeholder so 207 isn't read as 27.