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๐ท๏ธ Place Value for Kids: Indian Number System
Place value is the idea that a digitโs value depends on where it sits. The 3 in 3,000 is worth a thousand times more than the 3 in 3. Almost every calculation method children learn rests on this one idea.
The places
Moving one place to the left makes a digit worth ten times more: ones โ tens โ hundreds โ thousands โ ten thousands โ lakhs โ ten lakhs โ crores.
Place value vs face value
In 5,742 the face value of 7 is just 7. Its place value is 7 hundreds = 700. Olympiad questions love asking for the difference between the two: 700 โ 7 = 693.
Expanded form
Writing a number as the sum of its place values shows the structure: 46,205 = 40,000 + 6,000 + 200 + 0 + 5.
Indian and international systems
| Number | Indian system | International system |
|---|---|---|
| 1,00,000 | One lakh | 100,000 โ one hundred thousand |
| 10,00,000 | Ten lakh | 1,000,000 โ one million |
| 1,00,00,000 | One crore | 10,000,000 โ ten million |
In the Indian system commas come after the first three digits from the right, then every two digits (12,34,56,789). In the international system they come every three digits (123,456,789).
Why place value matters on the abacus
A soroban abacus makes place value physical: each rod is one place. Moving beads on the tens rod clearly changes the number by tens, not ones. That is a big reason abacus learners become confident with large numbers โ try the free online abacus to see it.
Quick practice
- What is the place value of 8 in 3,84,105? โ 80,000 (eighty thousand).
- Write 7,03,060 in words (Indian). โ Seven lakh three thousand sixty.
- Smallest 5-digit number using 4, 0, 7, 1, 9 once each? โ 10,479.
More place-value practice for Classes 1โ5 is in BeadBop School Maths.
Quick answers
What is the difference between place value and face value?
Face value is the digit itself. Place value is the digit multiplied by the value of its position: in 5,742 the face value of 7 is 7 and its place value is 700.
How many zeros are in one crore?
Seven: 1,00,00,000. One crore equals ten million in the international system.
How do you teach place value to kids?
Use bundles of ten (straws or sticks), base-ten blocks or an abacus so children see that ten ones make a ten and ten tens make a hundred.