Partition numbers to 10,000

Learning focus

Learn to explain the value that each number represents within a four-digit number.

This lesson includes:

a catch-up quiz
one video
three activities

Quiz

To get started, let's see how well you know this topic already. Take the catch-up quiz below to find out.

Learn

Watch this animation for an introduction to place value with some dinosaur friends.

Place value helps us work out the value of a digit depending on its place or position in a number.

Place value can be represented in a number of ways including:

place value charts
base 10 blocks
arrow cards

Place value charts

Starting with the furthest digit on the left (the thousands column), check the value of the digit and then move across to the next one on the right (the hundreds). After the hundreds, do the exact same to the digits in the tens and ones.

Take a look at this place value chart.

Place value chart showing three thousands, two hundreds, five tens and six in the ones column.

What number does each column represent?

You have three thousands (3,000), two hundreds (200), five tens (50) and six ones (6).

So, what number does this make?

3,000 + 200 + 50 + 6 = 3,256

Three thousand, two hundred and fifty-six.

Example

Lilly says that she has represented the number 3,231 in the place value chart. Is she correct?

Place value chart showing two thousands, three hundreds, three tens and one in the ones column.

Break down what is being represented first in the chart.

There are 2 thousands, 3 hundreds, 3 tens and 1 one.

2,000 + 300 + 30 + 1 = 2,331

Oops, Lilly is incorrect! She has mixed up the values of the thousands and hundreds.

3,231 would look like this in a place value chart:

Place value chart showing three thousands, two hundreds, three tens and one in the ones column.

3,000 + 200 + 30 + 1 = 3,231

What happens when the number gets even bigger?

When the number passes the thousands mark, that’s when you reach the ten thousands and an extra column gets introduced into the place value chart to the left.