🔢 Topics & explainers · 4 min read
Place value for Class 3: what each digit is really worth
A plain-words explainer of place value for Class 3 — face value vs place value, worked examples, and the classic trap in SOF IMO questions.
Place value is the idea that a digit’s worth depends on where it sits in a number. The 4 in 400 is worth four hundred; the same 4 in 40 is worth only forty. Once a child truly gets this, big numbers stop being scary strings of digits and become something they can take apart and put back together.
The idea in one minute
- Reading from the right, the places are ones, tens, hundreds — each place is worth ten times the one before it.
- The face value of a digit is just the digit itself: the face value of 7 is always 7.
- The place value is the digit multiplied by its place: 7 in the tens place is worth 70.
- Any number can be expanded: 352 = 300 + 50 + 2. Writing numbers this way makes addition and comparison much easier.
✏️ Warm-up: spot the place value
What is the place value of 7 in the number 472?
- A7
- B70
- C700
- D72
Show the answerAnswer: 70
Answer: 70. In 472, the 4 is in the hundreds place, the 7 is in the tens place and the 2 is in the ones place. A 7 in the tens place is worth 7 × 10 = 70.
✏️ Level up: find the digit in a given place
In which of these numbers does the digit 5 sit in the hundreds place?
- A253
- B526
- C835
- D457
Show the answerAnswer: 526
Answer: 526. Check the third digit from the right in each number. In 253 the 5 is in the tens place, in 835 the 5 is in the ones place, and in 457 the 5 is in the tens place. Only 526 has 5 in the hundreds place, where it is worth 500.
✏️ Olympiad twist: place value minus face value
What is the difference between the place value and the face value of 6 in the number 468?
- A0
- B54
- C60
- D594
Show the answerAnswer: 54
Answer: 54. In 468 the 6 sits in the tens place, so its place value is 60. Its face value is simply 6. The difference is 60 − 6 = 54. Children who mix up the two ideas often answer 0 or 60.
In LittleMathematicians, place value is one of the first Number Sense levels a Class 3 child meets. The questions adapt as mastery grows — starting with reading places, then expanded form, then the face-value twists above. It is free during early access, so a short session is an easy way to see where your child stands.
Practice this the fun way
Adaptive levels, exam-pattern mocks and progress you can see — free during early access.
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