Place Value Problem-Solving
Solve number and practical problems involving place value with increasingly large positive numbers
What a learner can do afterwards
- Solve a problem requiring rounding, comparing, or ordering numbers beyond 1000
- Apply place-value knowledge in a practical context (e.g. population figures, distances)
- Explain the strategy used, referencing place-value understanding
The lesson
Big numbers show up everywhere: how many people live in a city, how far a river runs, how much a bridge weighs. When a problem asks you to compare, order, or round these numbers, place value is your tool. Look at which digit sits in which place, and you can solve it without guessing.
Two towns report their populations: Elmwood has 18,430 people, and Fairview has 18,340. Which is bigger? Compare place by place. Both have 1 ten-thousand and 8 thousands, so move to the next digit: Elmwood has 4 hundreds, Fairview has 3. Since 4 is more than 3, Elmwood is bigger, even though its other digits are smaller.
When comparing or ordering numbers, start from the leftmost digit, the one with the highest place value. Only move to the next digit if the first ones match.
To solve place-value problems, compare digits starting from the highest place value, and round when a big number needs to be made easier to work with.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.