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Common Core Math5th GradeNumbers in Base Ten

5.NBT.1: Ten Times and One Tenth of a Place

Also written as 5.NBT.A.1 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.1 · Cluster: Understand the place value system.

Get the Decimal Place Value ChartAll 26 5th Grade Math Standards

The Official Wording

Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Number & Operations in Base Ten · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What 5.NBT.1 Means in Plain English

Fifth graders look at 4,444 and see four values: 4,000, 400, 40 and 4. Sliding a digit one place left makes it ten times as big, and one place right leaves one tenth. The pattern runs past the decimal point: 0.4 is one tenth of 4.

The one-tenth direction is new (4th grade only went up, 4.NBT.1), and it is what makes decimals make sense. Students use it to read 347.392 (5.NBT.3), to explain why multiplying by 10 shifts every digit one place (5.NBT.2), and in 6th grade to compute with decimals fluently (6.NS.3).

5.NBT.1 I Can Statements

  • I can show that the 4 in 400 is ten 40s.
  • I can tell what a digit is worth one place to the right.
  • I can use ten times and one tenth across the decimal point.

5.NBT.1 Worked Example

One digit in four columns, and the same two relationships between every neighboring pair.

4,444 by place value
4Thousands
4Hundreds
4Tens
4Ones
Read the columns right to left: 4, 40, 400, 4,000. Each 4 is ten of the one before it: ten ones make 40, ten 40s make 400, ten 400s make 4,000. Now read left to right and each 4 is one tenth of the one before: 4,000 ÷ 10 = 400, 400 ÷ 10 = 40, 40 ÷ 10 = 4.
4,000 + 400 + 40 + 4

four thousand, four hundred forty-four

Common Mistakes with 5.NBT.1

Saying the places differ by 10, not by a factor of 10

“400 is 10 more than 40”

Try this: Build 400 as ten groups of 40 with base-ten blocks and count the groups aloud, so students see ten copies, not ten extra.

Going the wrong way for one tenth

“One tenth of 400 is 4,000” because the student reaches for the bigger neighbor

Try this: Say the direction with the fraction every time: one tenth means smaller, so look to the right. 400 ÷ 10 = 40.

Stopping at the ones place

“There is nothing one tenth of 4, the ones are the end”

Try this: Extend the chart one column past the ones, write 0.4 there, and check: 0.4 × 10 = 4, so the rule holds.

Where 5.NBT.1 Fits

Comes Before4.NBT.1A digit is worth ten times the same digit one place to its right.4.NF.6Write a fraction with denominator 10 or 100 as a decimal, like 0.62.
Alongside5.NBT.2Explain the pattern of zeros and the decimal point when multiplying by a power of 10.5.NBT.3Read, write and compare decimals to thousandths.
Comes Next5.NBT.7Add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals to hundredths.6.NS.3Fluently compute with multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithms.

Practice 5.NBT.1

Math Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolPlace value practice at the 5th grade level: name the value of a digit, and tell how many times greater one digit is than another.Grade 5Place valueAnswer key
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Quick Check

  1. In 7,777, how many times greater is the 7 in the hundreds place than the 7 in the tens place?
  2. What is one tenth of 5,000?
  3. In 3.33, how does the 3 in the hundredths place compare with the 3 in the tenths place?

5.NBT.1: Other Names

5.NBT.15.NBT.A.1CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.1

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.