Decimal Place Value Practice
The digit 5 can mean five tenths, five hundredths, or five thousandths depending on its position. These questions ask you to distinguish the digit itself from its place and value. Identify a highlighted place, choose a digit’s numerical value, or combine an expanded form into one decimal. The tool generates questions through thousandths and checks each response immediately. Read the prompt carefully, because a place name and a numerical answer describe different things.
Start decimal place value practiceUnderstanding decimal place value
Each position in a decimal represents a power of ten. The decimal point separates whole units from fractional parts. Immediately to its left is the units place. Immediately to its right is the tenths place, followed by hundredths and thousandths. Moving one place to the right divides the value of a position by ten. Moving one place to the left multiplies it by ten.
A digit is a symbol from zero to nine. Its place tells you which size of unit it counts. Its value tells you how much it contributes to the whole number. In 4.372, the digit 7 occupies the hundredths place and contributes 7/100, or 0.07. The answers “7,” “hundredths,” and “0.07” therefore respond to three different questions about the same digit.
Count places from the decimal point, including zeros. In 12.053, the zero is in the tenths place, the 5 is in the hundredths place, and the 3 is in the thousandths place. The zero does not disappear simply because it contributes no tenths. It holds a position that determines the values of the following digits. Removing it would turn 12.053 into 12.53.
Expanded form writes a number as the sum of its place values. For example, 4.372 = 4 + 3/10 + 7/100 + 2/1000. To reconstruct the decimal, put each digit into its named position. Include a zero for an absent place. The expression 2 + 6/100 becomes 2.06 because there are no tenths, not 2.6.
Read the requested answer type before submitting. A prompt asking for a place needs a name such as “hundredths.” A prompt asking for the value needs a quantity such as 0.05. Trailing fractional zeros may extend the written form without changing earlier places: 4.37 and 4.370 have the same value, and the 7 remains in the hundredths place in both.
Worked examples
1. In 4.372, what place is the 7 in?
- Count from the decimal point: 3 is tenths.
- The next digit, 7, is hundredths.
hundredths
2. What is the value of 5 in 12.053?
- The 5 occupies the hundredths place.
- Five hundredths is 5/100.
0.05
Common mistake: giving a place name when a value is requested
“Hundredths” names the position of the 5 in 12.053. Its numerical value is 0.05. Read whether the question asks for the digit, the place, or the value.
Questions about decimal place value
- What is the first place after the decimal point?
- The tenths place. A 6 there contributes six tenths, written as 0.6 or 6/10.
- What is the difference between place and place value?
- Place names a position, such as thousandths. A digit’s value is the quantity it contributes there: a 3 in that position has value 0.003.
- Do trailing zeros affect decimal place value?
- They add written positions but do not change the number’s value or move existing digits. In 1.2 and 1.200, the 2 is still worth two tenths.