Place Value to 100
Place Value to 100 is understanding that in a two-digit number, each digit's position gives it a different value: the tens digit shows how many groups of ten, and the ones digit shows how many single units.
Method
- Start concrete: build two-digit numbers using base-10 blocks, or bundles of ten straws plus loose single straws, so the child physically separates tens from ones.
- Use a place-value chart or arrow cards, where a tens card and a ones card overlap to form the two-digit number, so the child sees the number physically taken apart.
- Move to pictorial: draw the blocks as tens sticks and ones dots, or use a hundred square, so the structure is visible without needing real blocks.
- Only then go abstract: write the number in expanded, partitioned form, e.g. 47 = 40 + 7, before writing it as a single two-digit number.
- Practise renaming the same number in different ways, e.g. 3 tens and 14 ones is also 4 tens and 4 ones, to build flexible understanding rather than one fixed picture.
- Watch for the classic misconception where a child reads the digit 5 in 52 as 'five' rather than 'fifty', because they focus on the symbol itself rather than its position.
- Watch for children who believe a number with a bigger single digit is always the bigger number, without checking place value, for example thinking 9 is bigger than 52 because 9 feels like a big digit.
Worked example
Write the number 68 in expanded form, then say how many tens and ones it has.
- Look at the tens digit: the 6 in 68 is in the tens place, so it stands for 6 tens, which is 60.
- Look at the ones digit: the 8 in 68 is in the ones place, so it stands for 8 ones, which is 8.
- Write the number in expanded form by adding the two parts: 68 = 60 + 8.
- Check by adding the expanded form back together: 60 + 8 = 68, which matches the original number.
- So 68 has 6 tens and 8 ones.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1In the number 73, what is the value of the digit 7?Show answer
Answer: 70 (seventy) - the 7 is in the tens place, so it is worth 7 tens
Q2In the number 29, what is the value of the digit 9?Show answer
Answer: 9 (nine) - the 9 is in the ones place, so it is worth 9 ones
Q3Write 85 in expanded form, showing tens and ones added together.Show answer
Answer: 85 = 80 + 5
Q4Which number has 9 tens and 6 ones?Show answer
Answer: 96
Q5A number has 4 tens and 17 ones. What two-digit number is this? (Hint: regroup the extra ones into another ten.)Show answer
Answer: 57 (4 tens and 17 ones is the same as 5 tens and 7 ones, because 10 of the ones make one more ten: 40 + 17 = 57)
Q6Write the missing number: 8 tens and 4 ones is the same as ___.Show answer
Answer: 84
Q7A number is made of 2 tens and 7 ones. Write the number, then write the number formed by swapping its tens and ones digits.Show answer
Answer: The number is 27 (2 tens and 7 ones); swapping the digits gives 72 (7 tens and 2 ones)
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 Maths exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A number has 5 tens and 13 ones. Regroup the ones into tens and ones, then write the resulting two-digit number. Show your working.
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Seraphina says the digit 8 in the number 18 is worth more than the digit 3 in the number 30, because 8 is a bigger digit than 3. Is Seraphina correct? Explain your answer using place value.
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A two-digit number has a tens digit that is double its ones digit. The ones digit is 2. What is the number? Show your working.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the place value to 100 worksheet pack - 6 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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