Place value is basically where a number is placed. Let's take the number 738, for example. There are hundreds, tens and units in 738.
H T U
7 3 8
Get it? If you placed it differently, it could become something like 0.000738 or
738,000,000!
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The most important benefit of place value in everyday life can be illustrated by a
simple though typical example:
When you go to the store to buy Chewing Gum, and you see exactly the flavor
you're looking for and the sign on it says " 79 ¢ ", other people might think at first
that they can buy it for sixteen cents ( 7 plus 9 ). But your knowledge of place value
and your ability to apply that knowledge save you from embarrassment, and as you
stride confidently toward the checkout register, you have seventy-nine cents plus tax
ready, in your hand, with which to execute the purchase.
The basis if the number system is place value. In a place value system, the position of the number is what determines the value of that number.