---
title: "Place Value × 10 Pattern"
description: "Recognise that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right (e.g. 700 ÷ 70 = 10)"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/place-value-10-pattern-mt_QqG6IdmTSE
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/place-value-10-pattern-mt_QqG6IdmTSE.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Place Value × 10 Pattern

Recognise that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right (e.g. 700 ÷ 70 = 10)

Subject: Mathematics · Area: Number Representation & Place Value · Ages 9 to 10
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/place-value-10-pattern-mt_QqG6IdmTSE

## Ready when they can

- Explain that the 3 in 3,000 is ten times the 3 in 300
- Complete: 700 ÷ 70 = __ and explain using place-value reasoning
- State how many times greater the value of the 5 in 50,000 is than the 5 in 5,000

## Lesson: One Place Left, Ten Times Bigger

You have compared big numbers place by place. Here is the pattern that connects those places: when a digit moves one place to the left, its value becomes exactly ten times bigger. The pattern also runs the other way: moving one place to the right makes a digit worth ten times less. Each extra place multiplies by another 10: two places left is one hundred times, and three places left is one thousand times.

*(drawing: The 3 in 3,000 is ten times the 3 in 300. One place left, ten times bigger.)*

**Example.** Look at 700 and 70. The 7 in 700 sits in the hundreds place. The 7 in 70 sits in the tens place, one place to the right. So the 7 in 700 is worth ten times the 7 in 70. That is why 700 divided by 70 equals 10, written 700 ÷ 70 = 10. The ÷ sign and the / sign both mean divide.

**Tip.** Each step a digit moves to the left adds one more zero to its value, and one more zero means times 10.

**Recap.** Move a digit one place to the left, and its value multiplies by 10.

## Practice

17 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Place Value Problem-Solving](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/place-value-problem-solving-mt__sMrmOv3bx)

## Opens up

- [Rounding Large Numbers](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/rounding-large-numbers-mt_5NwqN6pf_A)
- [Place Value × 10 and ÷ 10](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/place-value-10-and-10-mt_EDgw64OmfA)
- [Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, and 1000](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/multiplying-and-dividing-by-10-100-and-1000-mt_LlMl2PbaZe)
- [Mental addition and subtraction (age 9+)](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/mental-addition-and-subtraction-age-9-mt_MWXPiaTnEu)
- [Counting forwards and backwards (age 9+)](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/counting-forwards-and-backwards-age-9-mt_tAtMET4EIU)