Meaning & use
place value
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Meaning
noununcountablemathematics
The value a digit has because of its position in a number.
Grammar: Used as a mass noun; it does not take a plural when talking about the concept.
Patterns
- the place value of a digit
- understand place value
- place value in the tens column
In 352, the digit 5 has a place value of fifty because it is in the tens column.
Children learn place value before they can add large numbers.
The teacher explained that place value makes the same digit mean different amounts.
Common combinations
- place value chart
- We used a place value chart to show ones, tens, and hundreds.
- understand place value
- Once you understand place value, reading big numbers becomes easy.
- the place value of a digit
- What is the place value of the 7 in 1,742?
- place value in the thousands
- The 3 in 3,000 has place value in the thousands.
Synonyms and how they differ
- positional value
- A more formal term used in some textbooks; 'place value' is the usual everyday phrase in schools.
Word family
- place-value adjective
- Used before a noun, as in 'place-value system'.
Commonly confused: place value or face value?
place value vs face value
Face value is the digit itself, like 5, while place value is what that digit is worth because of its position, like 50.
Practice
In the number 4,082, what is the place value of the digit 8?
Choose one answer.
'Eighty' is correct because the 8 is in the tens column, so its place value is 8 × 10. 'Eight' is only the face value, and 'eight hundred' would require the 8 to be in the hundreds column.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “place value”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.