Place value
Every digit in a number is worth its face value multiplied by the column it sits in. This shows both.
English
A whole number, up to 36 digits.
| Digit | Column | Worth | In words |
|---|
The whole number in words:
What the columns are called
The names repeat in threes. Ones, tens and hundreds; then thousands, ten thousands and hundred thousands; then the same three again for millions, and for every scale word after it. That is also why numbers are grouped in threes by commas: the commas mark where the name changes.
| Column | Name | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ones | 1 |
| 2 | tens | 10 |
| 3 | hundreds | 100 |
| 4 | thousands | 1,000 |
| 5 | ten thousands | 10,000 |
| 6 | hundred thousands | 100,000 |
| 7 | millions | 1,000,000 |
| 8 | ten millions | 10,000,000 |
| 9 | hundred millions | 100,000,000 |
| 10 | billions | 1,000,000,000 |
| 11 | ten billions | 10,000,000,000 |
| 12 | hundred billions | 100,000,000,000 |
| 13 | trillions | 1,000,000,000,000 |
Place value explained covers why the same digit means different things in different columns, and what a zero is doing when it holds a column open.