Understanding Place Value

Place value refers to the value of the digit based on its position and can be a difficult concept for young learners to grasp, but understanding this idea is essential for learning math.

What Is Place Value?

Place value refers to the value of each digit in a number. For example, the number 753 has three "places"—or columns—each with a specific value. In this three-digit number, the 3 is in the "ones" place, the 5 is in the "tens" place, and the 7 is in the "hundreds" place.

In our decimal number system, the value of a digit depends on its place, or position, in the number. Each place has a value of 10 times the place to its right.

A number in standard form is separated into groups of three digits using commas. Each of these groups is called a period.