Imagine you have £537 in your wallet. The first digit (5) represents £500 - five hundred pounds! The last digit (7) represents just £7 - seven pounds. Same digit (5 and 7), but completely different values based on their POSITION. This is the magic of place value - it's what makes our entire number system work, and it's the foundation you need to master before tackling any other maths topic.
This introduction covers The Foundation of All Numbers within Place Value & Ordering for GCSE Mathematics. Revise Place Value & Ordering in Number for GCSE Mathematics with 13 exam-style questions and 22 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 1 of 13 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Place Value & Ordering
What is the value of the digit 7 in the number 47,362?
Write these numbers in order from smallest to largest: -3.2, 0.8, -1.5, -3.25, 0
Quick recall flashcards
What is place value?
Place value is the value a digit has because of its position in a number. Each column is worth 10× the column to its right.
How do you order whole numbers?
1. Compare number of digits (more digits = bigger)
2. If same digits, compare left to right
3. Find first column where digits differ
4. Bigger digit in that column = bigger number