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Decimal Place Value: Tenths, Hundredths and Thousandths

In one line: In a decimal number, each place to the right of the decimal point is worth one tenth of the place to its left: tenths, then hundredths, then thousandths.

Why it works

Decimals are everywhere: prices, heights in metres, race times and measurements in cooking or science. To read, compare, round or add decimals correctly, you need to know what each digit is worth. Place value is the value a digit has because of where it sits in a number. The decimal point is the dot that separates whole numbers (on the left) from parts of a whole (on the right). Once you know that 0.3 means 3 tenths and 0.03 means 3 hundredths, comparing numbers like 0.7 and 0.65 becomes easy instead of confusing.

Think of it like: Think of money. One pound (or one dollar) is a whole. A 10p coin (or a dime) is one tenth of it, because ten of them make a whole. A 1p coin (or a cent) is one hundredth, because a hundred of them make a whole. So £3.47 is 3 whole pounds, 4 ten-pence coins and 7 one-penny coins. The first digit after the point counts the tenths and the second counts the hundredths. (Where this breaks: Money stops at hundredths, because there is no coin worth a thousandth of a pound or dollar. Decimals can keep going forever (thousandths, ten-thousandths and smaller). Also, prices are always written with two decimal places, like £3.50, but in maths 3.5 and 3.50 are the same number, so you don't need the extra zero.)

Worked example

What is the value of each digit in 4.372?

  1. Find the decimal point. Everything to the left is whole numbers; everything to the right is part of a whole.
  2. The 4 is just left of the point, so it is in the ones place: it is worth 4.
  3. The 3 is the first digit after the point, in the tenths place: it is worth 3 tenths, or 0.3.
  4. The 7 is the second digit after the point, in the hundredths place: it is worth 7 hundredths, or 0.07.
  5. The 2 is the third digit after the point, in the thousandths place: it is worth 2 thousandths, or 0.002.
  6. Check by adding: 4 + 0.3 + 0.07 + 0.002 = 4.372.

Answer: 4.372 = 4 ones + 3 tenths + 7 hundredths + 2 thousandths, or 4 + 0.3 + 0.07 + 0.002.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking a decimal with more digits is always bigger (e.g. 0.65 > 0.7); fix this by comparing the tenths digit first, or by adding a zero so both have the same number of places (0.70 vs 0.65).
  • Calling the first place after the point the 'tens' or 'oneths'; fix this by remembering there is no oneths place, and the names after the point all end in -ths: tenths, hundredths, thousandths.
  • Leaving out a zero placeholder, such as writing 5 hundredths as 0.5 instead of 0.05; fix this by drawing a place value chart and putting a zero in any empty place.
  • Reading 2.15 as 'two point fifteen'; fix this by saying each digit separately ('two point one five') or as 'two and fifteen hundredths'.

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What is the value of the 3 in 6.38?

Questions parents ask

What year do kids learn decimal place value?

Children usually meet tenths around Year 3–4 in Australia and the UK, and Grade 4 in the US. Hundredths follow soon after, and thousandths are typically covered in Year 5–6 (UK and Australia) or Grade 5 (US).

How can I help my child with decimal place value at home?

Use money and measuring: ask how many 10p coins or cents make up a price, or read heights in metres and centimetres together. A simple place value chart with columns for ones, tenths, hundredths and thousandths helps children see where each digit belongs.

Why does my child think 0.25 is bigger than 0.3?

This is very common, because children apply whole-number thinking and see that 25 is bigger than 3. Show them that 0.3 is the same as 0.30, which is 30 hundredths, and so it is more than 25 hundredths.

Do zeros at the end of a decimal change its value?

No: 0.5, 0.50 and 0.500 are all the same amount. Zeros in the middle do matter, though, because 0.05 is ten times smaller than 0.5.