Place Value: Ones and Tens

🎯 What You'll Learn

You will learn that in a two-digit number, each digit has a different value based on its position. This is called place value.

🏪 Market Story

Tunde has ₦37. His teacher asks, "What does each digit in 37 mean?" Tunde thinks about it. He has 3 notes of ₦10 and 7 coins of ₦1. So the 3 means 30 (three tens) and the 7 means 7 (seven ones). Together: 30 + 7 = 37!

📝 Let's Learn

In a two-digit number like 45:

• The digit on the left is in the tens place. The 4 means 4 tens = 40.
• The digit on the right is in the ones place. The 5 means 5 ones = 5.
• 45 = 40 + 5

Example 1: The number 28. The 2 is in the tens place (20), the 8 is in the ones place (8). So 28 = 20 + 8.

Example 2: The number 73. The 7 means 70 and the 3 means 3. So 73 = 70 + 3.

Example 3: What number has 5 tens and 6 ones? 5 tens = 50, 6 ones = 6. The number is 56.

✏️ Practice Questions

1. In the number 64, what does the 6 mean? What does the 4 mean?
2. A number has 9 tens and 2 ones. What is the number?
3. Amina has ₦85. How many ₦10 notes and how many ₦1 coins could she have?

Click to see answers

1. The 6 means 60 (6 tens). The 4 means 4 (4 ones). 64 = 60 + 4.
2. The number is 92. 9 tens = 90, plus 2 ones = 92.
3. Amina could have 8 notes of ₦10 (= ₦80) and 5 coins of ₦1 (= ₦5). 80 + 5 = 85.

💡 Remember

Place value tells you what each digit is worth. The position of a digit matters! A 3 in the tens place is worth 30, but a 3 in the ones place is worth only 3.