Lesson 1.1.4
Place Value (Hundreds, Thousands)
About 14 minutes
New columns, same rule
You already know that the right-hand digit counts ones and the next digit counts tens. We keep adding columns to the left: the hundreds digit counts how many whole hundreds (100, 200, 300 …), and the thousands digit counts how many whole thousands (1000, 2000, 3000 …).
So in 4,052 the 4 is not “four ones” — it is four thousands. The 0 in the hundreds place means “no extra hundreds” after those thousands; the 5 is five tens; the 2 is two ones.
Why 10 × 100 = 1000
Ten tens make one hundred. Ten hundreds make one thousand. That is why each step left multiplies by ten again: ones → tens → hundreds → thousands.
A number like 3,456 reads as three thousands, four hundreds, five tens, and six ones — or 3000 + 400 + 50 + 6 in expanded form. The commas in large numbers are just helpers for the eyes; the place-value chart is the real structure.
Build numbers up to 9,999
Use the sliders to set each digit. The picture is simplified: each thousand block stands for a full thousand (ten hundreds); each small grid is one hundred; you still see tens rods and ones like before. Match the chart to the total and to the expanded sum.
It is the same idea as tens and ones: each column to the left is worth ten times more. A digit in the hundreds place counts how many whole hundreds; in the thousands place, how many whole thousands.
Base-ten idea (simplified)
Thousands
Hundreds
Tens and ones
| Thousands | Hundreds | Tens | Ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
- The number
- 3,456
- Expanded form
- 3000 + 400 + 50 + 6 = 3456
Try setting one column to zero and notice what disappears from the picture — the digit 0 holds the place so the other digits stay in the right columns.
Try it
Answer in your head or on paper, then open “Show answer” to check.
In 7,218, what does the 7 stand for? What does the 1 stand for?
Show answer
7 is in the thousands place, so it means 7000. 1 is in the tens place, so it means 10. (The 2 is two hundreds; the 8 is eight ones.)
Write 5,030 in expanded form (thousands + hundreds + tens + ones).
Show answer
5000 + 0 + 30 + 0, or simply 5000 + 30 — five thousands, no extra hundreds, three tens, no extra ones.
What number is six thousands, two hundreds, and four ones? (No extra tens.)
Show answer
6204. You need a 0 in the tens place: 6 thousands, 2 hundreds, 0 tens, 4 ones.
Which is larger, 2,899 or 2,988? Use place value to explain without calculating the full difference.
Show answer
2,988 is larger. Both have 2 thousands, but 988 is greater than 899 in the last three digits — in particular, the hundreds digit 9 beats 8.
How many hundreds are in 4000?
Show answer
40. Each thousand is ten hundreds, so four thousands is 4 × 10 = 40 hundreds.
What is next?
You can read and build four-digit numbers and write them in expanded form. Next, in lesson 1.1.5, we use place value and the number line to compare and order numbers with confidence.