What does place value indicate in a number?

Place value refers to the numerical value that a digit holds based on its position within a number. In a multi-digit number, each digit represents a value that is a power of ten, depending on its placement. For example, in the number 5,263, the digit 5 is in the thousands place, so it represents 5,000, while the digit 2 is in the hundreds place, signifying 200. Similarly, 6 in the tens place represents 60, and 3 in the ones place represents 3. Thus, place value is crucial for understanding how much each digit contributes to the overall value of the number, highlighting the significance of positional placement in determining numeric value. This concept is foundational for performing operations like addition, subtraction, and multi-digit multiplication or division.