Questions: Place Value: Hundreds, Tens, and Ones to 1000

Question 1

What is the value of the digit 4 in the number 347?

• A. 4, because it is the digit 4
• B. 40, because it is in the tens place
• C. 400, because it is in the hundreds place
• D. 47, because it comes before the 7

Answer: (B)

In 347, the digit 4 is in the tens place, so its value is 4 × 10 = 40. The digit alone does not determine the value — its position does. The 3 is in the hundreds place (value 300), the 4 is in the tens place (value 40), and the 7 is in the ones place (value 7). This is the definition of place value: the same digit means something completely different depending on where it sits.

Question 2

How many tens are in the number 250?

• A. 25 tens, because you can read '25' from the first two digits
• B. 5 tens, because the tens digit is 5
• C. 2 tens, because the hundreds digit is 2
• D. 0 tens, because 250 ends in 0

Answer: (B)

The tens digit in 250 is 5, so there are 5 tens (worth 50), in addition to 2 hundreds (worth 200) and 0 ones. The classic mistake is reading '25' from the first two digits and concluding '25 tens' — but that conflates the hundreds and tens digits into a single number. Each digit is read independently in its own place. 250 = 2 hundreds + 5 tens + 0 ones.

Question 3

The digit 3 typically represents the value 3, regardless of where it appears in a number.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

False. This is precisely what place value means. The digit 3 in 300 represents 3 × 100 = 300. The same digit 3 in 30 represents 3 × 10 = 30. In 3, it represents 3 × 1 = 3. The digit alone is not the value — the digit combined with its position is the value. This is the fundamental principle of our number system.

Question 4

In the number 400, there are 4 hundreds but also 40 tens — both statements describe the same quantity.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

True. 400 = 4 hundreds = 40 tens, because 1 hundred = 10 tens. Both descriptions are correct representations of the same number. This flexibility — understanding that hundreds can be unpacked into tens — is important for addition and subtraction requiring regrouping. The bundling pattern (10 ones = 1 ten, 10 tens = 1 hundred) applies at every level.

Question 5

Why is our number system called a 'place value' system? What does 'place' mean, and how does it change the value of a digit?

Model answer: In a place value system, the value of a digit depends entirely on its position in the number, not just on the digit itself. Each position represents a different power of ten: the ones place, the tens place, the hundreds place. A digit is multiplied by the value of its place: 3 in the hundreds place equals 300; the same digit 3 in the ones place equals 3. 'Place' is the location; 'value' is what the digit is worth at that location.

This is why the zero in 307 matters: it holds the tens place empty (zero tens), ensuring the 3 stays in the hundreds place rather than sliding down. Without the placeholder zero, 307 would look like 37 — a completely different number. Place is meaning in our number system.