Place value in mathematics simply means the place or position of a digit in a number. The place or position of a digit in a number determines its value. If the position or place of the digit changes, its value also changes.
Example 1: The place value table below represents 672,154.
NOTE: NUMBERS ARE GROUPED IN THREES FROM RIGHT TO LEFT.
The place value of each digit is written above the digit while the value of each digit is written below it. The number is read as six hundred and seventy-two thousand, one hundred and fifty-four.
The place value of 6 is hundred thousand. The value of the 6 is 600,000 or 6 hundred thousand.
The place value of 7 is ten thousand. The value of the 7 is 70 thousand or 70,000.
The place value of the 2 is thousand. The value of the 2 is 2,000 or 2 thousand.
The place value of the 1 is hundred. The value of the 1 is 100 or 1 hundred.
The place value of the 5 is ten. The value of the 5 is 50 or 5 tens.
The place value of the 4 is units or ones. The value of the 4 is 4 units or 4 ones or 4.
Example 2. 1,436,912
The number is read as: One million four hundred and thirty –six thousand nine hundred and twelve.
The place value of 1 is million. The value of the 1 is 1 million or 1,000,000.
The place value of 4 is hundred thousand. The value of the 4 is 400,000 or 4 hundred thousand.
The place value of 3 is ten thousand. The value of the 3 is 30 thousand or 30,000.
The place value of the 6 is thousand. The value of the 6 is 6,000 or 6 thousand.
The place value of the 9 is hundred. The value of the 9 is 900 or 9 hundred.
The place value of the 1 is ten. The value of the 1 is 10 or 1 ten.
The place value of the 2 is units or ones. The value of the 2 is 2 units or 2 ones or 2.
NOTE:
There are two 1’s in the number but their values are different. The first 1 has a value of 1,000,000 while the other has a value of 10. Thus the value of the digit depends on the place or position of the digit.
Example 3. 4,132,796
This number is written in words as four million one hundred and thirty-two thousand one hundred and ninety–six.
The place value of 4 is million. The value of the 4 is 4 million or 4,000,000.
The place value of 1 is hundred thousand. The value of the 1 is 100,000 or 1 hundred thousand.
The place value of 3 is ten thousand. The value of the 3 is 3 ten thousand or 30 thousand or 30,000.
The place value of the 2 is thousand. The value of the 2 is 2,000 or 2 thousand.
The place value of the 7 is hundred. The value of the 7 is 700 or 7 hundred.
The place value of the 9 is ten. The value of the 9 is 90 or 9 tens.
The place value of the 6 is units or ones. The value of the 6 is 6 units or 6 ones or 6.