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2nd Grade · 2.NBT.A.1

Place value in 2nd grade

Place value is the idea that a digit is worth a different amount depending on where it sits in a number. In 2nd grade, your child learns what the three digits of a number like 248 stand for: hundreds, tens and ones. Your child also learns that 100 is a bundle of ten tens.

What the standard says

The official Common Core wording, quoted exactly. The plain version follows.

2.NBT.A.1 Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones. Understand the following as special cases:

  • 2.NBT.A.1.a 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens – called a "hundred."
  • 2.NBT.A.1.b The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

What it means, in plain words

A digit is one of the ten symbols 0 to 9. In 248, the 2 sits in the hundreds place, so it means 2 hundreds, or 200. The 4 is in the tens place and means 4 tens, or 40. The 8 is in the ones place and means 8 ones.

The new idea this year is the hundred. In 1st grade, your child learned that ten ones make a ten. In 2nd grade, ten tens make one hundred. Base-ten blocks show it well: a small cube is a one and a rod of 10 cubes is a ten. A flat square made of 10 rods is a hundred. Teachers sum this up as place value: hundreds, tens and ones.

Round numbers such as 300 or 900 get attention too. 300 means 3 hundreds, 0 tens and 0 ones. The zeros hold the empty places. Without them, 3 hundreds would look like the number 3.

Your child should be able to:

  • Say how many hundreds, tens and ones are in a three-digit number
  • Give the value of any digit, such as the 4 in 248 being worth 40
  • Explain that 100 is the same as ten tens
  • Read numbers with zeros in them, such as 400 or 509, and say what each zero means

Example

What is each digit worth in the number 462?

  1. The 4 is in the hundreds place, so it is worth 4 hundreds, or 400.
  2. The 6 is in the tens place, so it is worth 6 tens, or 60.
  3. The 2 is in the ones place, so it is worth 2 ones, or 2.
  4. So 462 is 4 hundreds, 6 tens and 2 ones: 400+60+2=462400 + 60 + 2 = 462.

Example

Base-ten blocks show 2 hundred flats, no rods and 9 small cubes. What number do they show?

  1. 2 flats are 2 hundreds, so the hundreds digit is 2.
  2. There are no rods, so the tens digit is 0.
  3. 9 cubes are 9 ones, so the ones digit is 9.
  4. The blocks show 209, two hundred nine.

Where children usually get stuck

  • Your child looks at 5 hundred flats and 7 small cubes with no rods and writes 57.

    The child writes the digits that are there and skips the empty tens place. Zero feels like nothing, so leaving it out seems harmless, but without it the 5 slides into the tens place.

    What helps. Draw three boxes on paper and label them hundreds, tens and ones. Put a digit in every box, with a 0 for an empty place. Then read the number together: 507.

  • Asked what the 3 in 238 is worth, your child answers 3.

    The child names the digit, not its value. A digit and its value are the same only in the ones place.

    What helps. Ask, "3 what?" Once your child says 3 tens, count the tens together: 10, 20, 30. The 3 is worth 30.

  • Counting groups of ten, your child says "eighty, ninety, tenty" and stops.

    The child has not yet seen that ten tens bundle into a new unit called a hundred, so the count has nowhere to go after ninety.

    What helps. Make ten bundles of 10 with straws or dry pasta and rubber bands. Put all ten bundles together with one more band, and call it one hundred.

Try four practice questions

Real 2nd grade questions from our question bank, easiest first. Answer them right here, check each one, and see a worked solution for any question.

  1. 1Warm-up
    The place value chart below shows the number 271. Select the statement that best describes the chart.
    Hundreds
    7
    Tens
    2
    Ones
    1
    A
    The digits are correct.
    B
    The hundreds and ones digits are swapped.
    C
    The tens and ones digits are swapped.
    D
    The hundreds and tens digits are swapped.
    Show the answer and how to solve it

    The hundreds and tens digits are swapped. The chart shows 7 hundreds and 2 tens, but 271 has 2 hundreds and 7 tens — those two digits are in each other's columns.

    1. 1Look at the place value chart shown below.
    2. 2The chart shows 7 in the hundreds column, 2 in the tens column, and 1 in the ones column.
    3. 3The number 271 should have 2 hundreds, 7 tens, and 1 one — so the chart should show 2 in hundreds, 7 in tens, and 1 in ones.
    4. 4Compare each column: hundreds shows 7 (should be 2), tens shows 2 (should be 7), ones shows 1 (correct). The hundreds and tens digits are switched.

    Common mistake. A common mistake is glancing at the chart and assuming the digits are correct because all three digits of 271 appear somewhere in the chart. The chart contains the right digits, but two of them are in the wrong columns.

    The idea underneath. Each digit's value depends on its column position. To check whether a chart matches a number, compare each column's digit to the digit that should be there — never skip a column.

  2. 2On level
    Match each number to the place value chart that shows it. One chart will not be used.
    Connect each item on the left to its match on the right.
    Number
    Place Value Chart
    234
    342
    Hundreds
    2
    Tens
    4
    Ones
    3
    Hundreds
    3
    Tens
    4
    Ones
    2
    Hundreds
    2
    Tens
    3
    Ones
    4

    Use Tab to navigate between items. Click or tap a card to select it, then click or tap a card on the opposite side to create a match. You can also drag a card or its connector dot to a card on the opposite side.

    Show the answer and how to solve it

    234 matches the chart with 2|3|4 and 342 matches the chart with 3|4|2. Always read place value charts from Hundreds on the left to Ones on the right.

    1. 1Each place value chart has three columns: Hundreds, Tens, and Ones. To match a number to its chart, find the chart with the same digit in each column.
    2. 2The number 234 has 2 hundreds, 3 tens, and 4 ones. So 234 matches the chart showing 2 in Hundreds, 3 in Tens, and 4 in Ones.
    3. 3The number 342 has 3 hundreds, 4 tens, and 2 ones. So 342 matches the chart showing 3 in Hundreds, 4 in Tens, and 2 in Ones. The leftover chart shows 2 in Hundreds, 4 in Tens, and 3 in Ones — that is the number 243, which is not in our list. Notice that 243 uses the same digits as 234 but with the tens and ones columns swapped.

    Common mistake. A common mistake is matching a number to a chart by looking at only one or two columns. The charts for 234 and 243 both have a 2 in Hundreds and share the same three digits — you must check every column to tell them apart.

    The idea underneath. The position of a digit decides its value. The leftmost column is hundreds, the middle is tens, and the rightmost is ones. So you must always read a place value chart from left to right.

  3. 3On level
    What does the highlighted digit mean?
    374\displaystyle \textcolor{#dc2626}{3}74
    A
    The 3 in 374 means 3 hundreds.
    B
    The 3 in 374 means 7 hundreds.
    C
    The 3 in 374 means 3 ones.
    D
    The 3 in 374 means 3 tens.
    Show the answer and how to solve it

    The answer is 'The 3 in 374 means 3 hundreds.' The 33 sits in the leftmost position of the three-digit number, which is the hundreds place, so it represents 33 hundreds (or 300300).

    1. 1Look at the number. The highlighted digit is the 3 in the leftmost position.
    2. 2In a three-digit number, the leftmost digit is in the hundreds place. So the 3 is in the hundreds place.
    3. 3Because the 33 is in the hundreds place, it means 33 hundreds, which is 300300.

    Common mistake. A common mistake is calling the 3 in 374 '3 tens' or '3 ones' — confusing which place name goes with the leftmost position. In any three-digit number, the leftmost digit is always in the hundreds place, the middle is tens, and the rightmost is ones.

    The idea underneath. Each digit's meaning has two parts: the digit itself is the count, and its position gives the place name. In a three-digit number, the leftmost digit is hundreds, the middle is tens, and the rightmost is ones.

  4. 4Stretch
    Which statement correctly tells how many hundreds, tens, and ones are in the number below?
    875\displaystyle 875
    A
    8 hundreds, 7 tens, 5 ones
    B
    8 hundreds, 5 tens, 7 ones
    C
    7 hundreds, 8 tens, 5 ones
    D
    5 hundreds, 7 tens, 8 ones
    Show the answer and how to solve it

    The number 875 has 8 hundreds, 7 tens, and 5 ones.

    1. 1Look at the number.
    2. 2Read the digits from left to right. The first digit is 8, in the hundreds place. The middle digit is 7, in the tens place. The last digit is 5, in the ones place.
    3. 3So the number 875 has 8 hundreds, 7 tens, and 5 ones.

    Common mistake. A common mistake is mixing up the tens and ones places — the two digits on the right side of the number. Always read place value from left to right: hundreds, then tens, then ones.

    The idea underneath. Place value reads left to right: the leftmost digit is hundreds, the middle is tens, and the rightmost is ones.