A place-value problem can be unpacked
Mia has 3 tens and 4 ones. How many counters does she have?
3 tens is 30 and 4 ones is 4, so Mia has 34 counters altogether.
Year 2
Use place value and number facts to solve problems
Use tens, ones, comparing and known number facts to solve simple number problems.
Lesson overview
Number - number and place value
Place value helps us solve number problems more clearly. We can think about tens and ones, compare numbers carefully, and use simple known facts to work things out step by step.
Compare the tens first
Tom has 58 marbles and Sara has 61 marbles. Who has more?
61 has 6 tens and 58 has 5 tens, so Sara has more marbles.
Use a known fact
There are 4 bags with 10 counters in each bag. How many counters are there?
4 groups of 10 make 40, so there are 40 counters altogether.
Worked example
A box has 4 tens rods and 6 ones cubes. Then 1 more cube is added. How many are there now?
- Start with the place value you can see.
- 4 tens and 6 ones make 46.
- Add 1 more one.
- 46 and 1 more make 47.
- So there are 47 altogether.
Try it
Read the short problem, then choose the answer that matches the place value thinking.
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Common mistakes
Watch for these when you solve place-value problems.
- Forgetting to use the tens value and reading 4 tens as 4.
- Comparing only the ones digits when the tens digits already decide which number is greater.
- Skipping the step where the story is turned into a number sentence.
Related topics
These ideas support problem solving with place value.
- Recognise the place value of each digit in a two-digit number.
- Compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100; use <, > and = signs.
- Read and write numbers to at least 100 in numerals and in words.