The idea in brief. A digit is worth the place it stands in, and every step right of the decimal point is ten times smaller: ones, then tenths, then hundredths, then thousandths. Split the number into those values and every question on this node is answered by reading one of them off.
Lesson video, with the working
Place value of decimals
3 min 41 s
The film teaches 2 questions in turn. Each question shows first; its working is written as the film explains it.
A decimal has 2 in the ones place, 4 in the tenths place and 0 in the hundredths place. It also has a digit 9, whose value is 0.009. Write the decimal.
the value of the digit 9 = 0.009
0.009 is 9 thousandths, so the 9 is in the thousandths place
the decimal = 2 + 0.4 + 0.009 = 2.409
Ans: 2.409
How to solve it
Start at the decimal point. The places to its right are tenths, hundredths and thousandths.
Split the number by place: 46.372 is 40 plus 6 plus 0.3 plus 0.07 plus 0.002.
Find the place of the digit. The 7 is in the hundredths place, so its value is 0.07.
To write a decimal, put each digit in its named place: 2 ones, 4 tenths, 0 hundredths and 9 thousandths.
Keep the empty hundredths place. The decimal is 2.409, with the 9 in the thousandths place.
A digit gets its value from its place. Keep the decimal point and every needed zero.
Practice questions with worked solutions
Question 1 is free to try. The other 8 open in the free trial, each with its full working.
the decimal places are tenths, hundredths, thousandths
the hundredths digit = 0
Answer: 0
For parents
How can I help my child understand decimal place value in P4?
Your child learns what each digit after the decimal point is worth.
What your child learns here
Your child learns what each digit after the decimal point is worth. The MOE Primary 4 syllabus extends number notation and representations to three decimal places, so a decimal can describe a whole amount together with tenths, hundredths and thousandths. Naming those parts makes later comparison and calculation easier to explain.
Read the first, second and third places after the decimal point as tenths, hundredths and thousandths, keeping the whole-number places on its left.
Distinguish a digit from its value: a 6 in the hundredths place represents six hundredths, which is written as 0.06.
Build a decimal from its stated parts and split a given decimal into whole numbers and fractional place values without changing its amount.
Use zero to hold an empty place, and recognise that adding a zero at the end of a decimal does not increase its value.
Rename a quantity when a place contains ten or more parts, using the relationships between ones, tenths, hundredths and thousandths.
Does the answer make sense?
If your child writes 0.06 for six hundredths, ten such parts would make 0.6, which is still less than one whole. An answer of 0.6 for the original six hundredths would be ten times too large, so naming the place checks the size as well as the digit.
How to practise these questions
The Basic questions ask your child to identify a digit's place, complete an expanded form and rename a count of tenths as a decimal. Intermediate questions combine or compare named place-value amounts, include zero placeholders, and ask about different values carried by the same digit. The Challenge questions use several digit clues together, including a relationship between digit values or a digit total, to find all possible decimals. Ask your child to name the size of the parts before writing each answer. For a clue question, keep a list of the conditions and check every proposed decimal against each condition, including whether all permitted arrangements have been found. Multiple-choice Basic questions ask which decimal is made of given ones, tenths, hundredths or thousandths, in which decimal a digit stands for a given value, or how many hundredths a decimal holds.
Questions parents ask
How many decimal places does my child learn in Primary 4? The P4 decimals topic covers notation, representations and place values up to three decimal places. These are tenths, hundredths and thousandths. The number of places being read is separate from the limits for decimal calculations, which have their own syllabus outcomes.
Why is the zero in a decimal sometimes necessary? Its position matters. In 2.04, the zero holds the tenths place so that the 4 means four hundredths. Removing that zero changes the number to 2.4. A zero added at the far right, as in 2.040, leaves the same amount because it adds no thousandths.
What should I ask when my child names the digit but not its value? Follow up with the place name: is that digit counting ones, tenths or hundredths? Ask your child to say both the number of parts and the size of each part. This connects the written digit to an amount, rather than treating the decimal point as a separator between two whole numbers.
