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Class 4 · Mathematics · Stage: Classes 3-5

Place value and large numbers

Generic topic

This topic comes from GayaGnan's India-wide K–12 catalog. It is not copied from, or an official chapter of, any board's textbook: check your board's syllabus for the exact chapter and depth.

🎯 Learning outcomes

  • Read and write numbers up to lakhs in the Indian and international systems
  • Explain the place value and face value of a digit
  • Compare, order and round large numbers

Before you start: Tens and ones; numbers up to 1000.

📖 Explanation

Each place is ten times the place to its right: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, lakhs. In 4,52,316 the digit 5 is in the ten-thousands place, so its place value is 50,000; its face value is just 5.

In the Indian system we put commas after the hundreds and then after every two digits: 4,52,316 is read four lakh fifty-two thousand three hundred sixteen. In the international system commas come every three digits: 452,316, read four hundred fifty-two thousand three hundred sixteen. 1 lakh = 100 thousand.

To compare large numbers, first count the digits; if equal, compare digit by digit from the left. To round to the nearest thousand, look at the hundreds digit: 5 or more rounds up.

🇮🇳 Example from India

The population of a town might be written as 3,48,960. Rounded to the nearest thousand it is about 3,49,000, which is easier to say in a news report.

⚠️ Common mistake

✗ The number with the bigger first digit is always larger, so 9,999 > 10,000
✓ Count the digits first: 10,000 has five digits and 9,999 has four, so 10,000 is larger.

🧪 Try this activity

Write a 6-digit number on cards, one digit per card. Swap cards to make the largest and smallest possible numbers and read them aloud in the Indian system.

✍️ Question bank with answers

Tap an option to check multiple-choice answers. Open “Answer” or “Marking points” for the others.

  1. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    What is the place value of 7 in 2,73,415?

    Answer

    B. 70,000

    7 is in the ten-thousands place, so its value is 7 × 10,000 = 70,000.

  2. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    How is 6,05,020 read?

    Answer

    C. six lakh five thousand twenty

    6 lakh, 05 thousand, 020: six lakh five thousand twenty.

  3. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    38,472 rounded to the nearest thousand is

    Answer

    C. 38,000

    The hundreds digit is 4, which is less than 5, so round down to 38,000.

  4. Very short answer 1 mark · easy

    Write one lakh in figures.

    Answer

    1,00,000

  5. Very short answer 1 mark · easy

    What is the face value of 8 in 58,203?

    Answer

    8

  6. Short answer 2 marks · medium

    Write 7,30,906 in the international system and in words.

    Marking points
    • 730,906
    • seven hundred thirty thousand nine hundred six
  7. Long answer 4 marks · hard

    Arrange 45,302; 4,53,020; 45,230; 4,35,200 in ascending order and explain.

    Marking points
    • Five-digit numbers are smaller than six-digit numbers
    • 45,230 < 45,302 (compare tens place)
    • 4,35,200 < 4,53,020 (compare ten-thousands place)
    • Order: 45,230; 45,302; 4,35,200; 4,53,020
  8. Application 2 marks · medium

    A stadium has 52,480 seats. A newspaper says 'about 50,000 seats'. To which place did it round?

    Answer
    • Nearest ten thousand
    • 52,480 is nearer 50,000 than 60,000
  9. Diagram / label 2 marks · medium

    Draw a place-value chart and place the number 3,08,451.

    Answer
    • Columns L, TTh, Th, H, T, O
    • Digits 3, 0, 8, 4, 5, 1 in order
  10. Worked problem 2 marks · medium

    Find the difference between the place values of the two 4s in 4,24,316.

    Answer
    • The first 4 is 4,00,000
    • The second 4 is 4,000
    • Difference = 3,96,000

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