Frequently Asked Questions
What is place value?
Place value is the value a digit has because of where it sits in a number. In 139, the 1 is worth 100, the 3 is worth 30 and the 9 is worth 9. Read more in what is place value.
What is the place value of a digit?
It is the name of the place the digit sits in — ones, tens, hundreds, thousands and so on. The digit’s value is that digit multiplied by its place: the 4 in 1,394 is in the ones place, so it is worth 4.
What does the 3 mean in 139?
The 3 is in the tens place, so it means 3 tens, which is 30. The digit tells you how many; the place tells you how much each one is worth. See what is place value.
How do I explain 139 to my child?
Build it: 1 group of a hundred, 3 groups of ten and 9 single items. Then write it as 100 + 30 + 9 and point out that each part matches one digit. The guide for parents has five games to try.
How do I teach hundreds, tens and ones?
Start with real objects you can bundle in tens, then show the same number on a hundreds-tens-ones chart, then in digits. Trading — ten ones for one ten — is the key idea. See hundreds, tens and ones.
How do I teach thousands?
Show that a thousand is simply ten hundreds, so the same trading rule continues. Then practise reading four-digit numbers place by place, paying special attention to zeros. See understanding thousands.
What is expanded form?
Expanded form writes a number as the sum of each digit’s value, such as 139 = 100 + 30 + 9. See expanded form.
What is 139 in expanded form?
139 in expanded form is 100 + 30 + 9.
What is 1,394 in expanded form?
1,394 in expanded form is 1,000 + 300 + 90 + 4.
Why is zero important in place value?
A zero says “none of this place” and holds that place open so the other digits stay in the right positions. Without the zero, 105 would become 15 and 1,005 would become 15.
At what age do children learn place value?
Children usually meet tens and ones in the first years of school and build up to thousands and beyond by around age 9 or 10, although every child moves at their own pace.
Is Place Value Quest free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no subscription, no in-app purchases and no ads.
Does my child need an account?
No. There is no signup and no account. Progress is saved only in the browser on the device being used. See the privacy policy.
Is it suitable for a 9-year-old?
Yes. It was designed for children of about 7 to 10, starting with small numbers and building up to thousands and beyond, so a 9-year-old can begin wherever they need to.
How is it different from a worksheet?
Instead of writing digits in boxes, children build numbers from blocks, move digits between places and see why answers are right. Mistakes get explained and followed by a similar question to try.
Can teachers use it in class?
Yes. It works on an interactive whiteboard and needs no student accounts. See Place Value Quest in the classroom.
How do I teach my child to tell the time?
Start with the hour hand alone and show that it travels slowly through each hour. Then add the minute hand and count round in fives. Introduce quarter past, half past and quarter to with a clock cut into four quarters. See how to tell the time.
What does “quarter to” mean?
Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour. At 3:45, three quarters of the hour have passed and one quarter is left before 4 o’clock, so it is quarter to 4. See quarter past and quarter to.
Why does my child read 3:45 as 4:45?
At 3:45 the hour hand is very close to the 4, so it is natural to read the nearest number. But the hour hand travels gradually from 3 to 4 — until it reaches the 4, it is still the 3 o’clock hour.
What is elapsed time?
Elapsed time is how much time passes between a start and a finish. The easiest method is to jump to the next o’clock and then add the rest: 3:45 to 4:20 is 15 + 20 = 35 minutes. See elapsed time explained.
How many days are in a week, and how many months are in a year?
There are 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year. A year has 365 days, or 366 in a leap year, which is about 52 weeks.
Which months are in each season?
In the school-calendar grouping used in the UK, winter is December, January and February; spring is March, April and May; summer is June, July and August; autumn is September, October and November. See seasons for kids.
Why do we have seasons?
Because the Earth is tilted as it travels around the Sun. When our half leans towards the Sun, days are longer and sunlight is more direct, so it is summer. It is not because the Earth is closer to the Sun. See why seasons happen.
Is Digi’s Time Quest free?
Yes. Like Place Value Quest, it is completely free, with no subscription, no in-app purchases and no ads.
Does Digi’s Time Quest need an account?
No. There is no signup and no account. Progress is saved only in the browser on the device being used.
How is Digi’s Time Quest different from Place Value Quest?
They are sibling games with the same guide, Digi, and the same style. Place Value Quest is about how numbers are built; Digi’s Time Quest is about clocks, time passing, the calendar and the seasons. Both are free at the Digi game library.
Still curious? Read the guide for parents.