Definition
Place value
Place value is the value a digit has because of its position in a numeral.
Continue from this idea into connected AXIO math.
Boundary check: The digit 5 stays the same; its value changes when its place changes.
What it means
The same digit can stand for different amounts in different places. In 4,306, the 4 means 4,000 and the 3 means 300. Moving a digit one place left makes its value ten times as great; moving it one place right makes it one tenth as great.
Remember it
The digit tells how many; the place tells how much each one is worth.
Example
In 58.2, the 5 is in the tens place and is worth 50, while the 2 is in the tenths place and is worth 0.2.
Watch for
A digit’s face does not change when it moves, but its value does.
Common mix-up
Digit value is not the same as the digit itself: the digit 7 can mean 7, 70, or 700.
Exact meaning
In a positional numeral system, place value is the value assigned to a digit by its position. In base ten, each place is ten times the value of the place to its right.