Each digit has a job. The one on the left counts hundreds.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
Reading 275
275 is 2 hundreds, 7 tens, and 5 ones. Say it as "two hundred seventy-five".
Position is everything
275 and 572 use the same digits. They are very different numbers.
Ten hundreds bundle into one thousand, written 1,000.
Every three-digit number is three counts
The number 476 means 4 hundreds, 7 tens, and 6 ones. That is three separate counts, written side by side with no gaps or words between them. Reading a number is really reading three answers at once.
Why no digit goes past 9
You never write 12 tens in the tens place, because ten tens would bundle into a hundred and move left. That is why each column holds only 0 to 9. Whenever a column would reach ten, the bundle moves one place left — the same rule you will use when adding with carrying.
Same digits, different numbers
The digits 3, 5 and 8 can make 358, 385, 538, 583, 835 and 853. All six use the same three digits and none of them are equal. Position is doing all the work. This is exactly why place value matters.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
Hundreds
2
Tens
7
Ones
5
two hundred seventy-five
2 hundreds, 7 tens and 5 ones is 275.
Step 3: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Leo Read 508
Leo is shown 5 flats, no rods, and 8 cubes.
- Step 1
He counts the flats: 5 hundreds.
Step 4: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Library
Problem 1 of 2
A shelf holds 4 hundreds, 3 tens, and 6 ones of books. How many books?
books
Same Digits
Problem 2 of 2
Which is greater, 385 or 583?
Read the Digits
1 of 3
In 617, how many tens are there?
2 of 3
7 hundreds, 2 tens and 9 ones is which number?
3 of 3
How many hundreds make one thousand?
Build Any Number
Try numbers with a zero in the middle, like 405.
Hundreds
4
Tens
0
Ones
5
four hundred five
4 hundreds, 0 tens and 5 ones is 405.
Step 5: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
6 hundreds, 0 tens and 3 ones is which number?
Question 2 of 2
In 482, which digit tells the hundreds?
What You Learned
- Every three-digit number is hundreds, tens, and ones.
- The place a digit sits in decides its job.
- Ten hundreds make one thousand.