Place value is the system by which a digit's value depends on its position in a number. In 4,523: the 4 represents 4,000, the 5 represents 500, the 2 represents 20, and the 3 represents 3. Our base-10 system uses powers of 10 for each position.
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Pro Tip
Teaching place value: use physical manipulatives (base-10 blocks). One unit cube = 1, a rod of 10 = 10, a flat of 100 = 100, a large cube = 1,000. Seeing the physical size difference makes the concept concrete.
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Did You Know?
Zero as a placeholder was independently invented by the Babylonians (~300 BCE), Mayans (~350 CE), and Indians (~500 CE). Without zero as a placeholder, you couldn't distinguish 52 from 502 from 5,002 — the number system wouldn't work.
References
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