Place value chart
Type a number and see it placed in a chart from ones up to hundred trillions, and tenths down to millionths. Each digit shows its worth underneath, and the expanded form adds those worths back up to the number.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Type a number such as 4,583.207.
- Read the chart from left to right: the column names are on top, the digits in the middle and the value of each digit underneath.
- Use the expanded form to see how the number is built.
How it works
The number is split at the decimal point and treated as text. Counting from the right, the whole-number digits are ones, tens, hundreds, thousands and so on; after the point they are tenths, hundredths, thousandths and so on. A digit’s value is the digit followed by as many zeros as its column’s power of ten, or a decimal such as 0.07 for the hundredths column.
Worked example
For 4,583.207 the chart has the 4 in thousands (4000), the 5 in hundreds (500), the 8 in tens (80), the 3 in ones (3), the 2 in tenths (0.2), the 0 in hundredths and the 7 in thousandths (0.007). The expanded form is 4000 + 500 + 80 + 3 + 0.2 + 0.007.
Tips
- Each step to the left multiplies the worth by 10; each step to the right divides it by 10.
- A zero is a placeholder: in 4,083 it holds the hundreds column so that the 4 keeps its worth of thousands.
Frequently asked questions
What is a place value chart?
It is a table that shows which column each digit of a number sits in. In 4,583 the 5 is in the hundreds column, so it is worth 500, not 5. Each column is worth ten times the one to its right.
What is expanded form?
Expanded form writes a number as the sum of the values of its digits. 4,583.207 becomes 4000 + 500 + 80 + 3 + 0.2 + 0.007. Digits that are zero are left out because they add nothing.
How big a number can I enter?
Up to 15 digits before the decimal point (hundred trillions) and up to 6 after it (millionths). The digits are handled as text, so large numbers are not rounded.
Can I type commas or spaces?
Yes. Commas, spaces and underscores are ignored, so 1,250,000 and 1 250 000 give the same chart. Use a dot as the decimal point.
What happens to zeros at the ends?
Leading zeros are dropped (007 is 7) and trailing zeros after the decimal point are dropped (2.50 is 2.5). Zeros inside the number stay as digits in their columns.