Place Value and Face Value

Place Value and Face Value

The face value of a digit in any number is the digit itself. Whether the number is single-digit, double-digit, or any number, each digit has its face value. Let us understand this using the following examples.

• If 4 is the given number, the face value of 4 is 4, and the place value of 4 is also 4 (4 ones = 4 × 1 = 4).
• For a given number 78, the face value of 7 is 7 and its place value is 70 (7 tens = 7 × 10 = 70).
• For 52369, the face value of 3 is 3 while its place value is 300 (3 hundreds = 3 × 100 = 300).

Difference between Place Value and Face Value

Place value describes the position of a digit in a given number. On the other hand, face value represents the number itself.

Let us take an example of a number say, 1437. The table given below explains the difference between the place value and the face value of digits in this number.

Place Value Examples

Example 1: Write the place value of the underlined digit: 645

Solution:

Since 6 is in the hundreds place, the place value of 6 in 645 is 6 hundreds. This means the place value of 6 is expressed as 6 × 100 = 600.

Example 2: A number has 4 thousand, 7 hundreds, and 8 tens. What is the number?

Solution:

The place value of the following digits are:

4 thousands = 4,000

7 hundreds = 700

8 tens = 80

Adding these numbers together, we get: 4,000 + 700 + 80 = 4780. Therefore, the number is 4780.