Use Place Value to Multiply By Powers of 10

If we want to multiply a number by 10, there is a simple rule to follow:

 

Shift every digit 1 place value to the left.

Using a place value chart helps.

 

Example

13,409 x 10 

 

 

We just shift every digit 1 place to the left. We need to fill in the gap in the ones column with a zero.

 

So 13,409 x 10 = 134,090

 

If we want to multiply by 100, we simply shift everything 2 places left.

 

Example

40,315 x 100

 

 

This time we have shifted every digit 2 places left.

So 40,315 x 100 = 4,031,500

 

If we wanted to multiply by 1,000, then you guessed it! We just shift every digit 3 places left!

 

Let's test our skills with these questions.