The position of a digit in a number has a very important role.
It tells us the value of the digit in that particular number.
Let's take the following digits: 1 2 3
What would you rather have:
£ 123
or
£ 321
I know which I would prefer!
H T O
1 2 3
3 2 1
We can see that the value of each digit is either hundreds, tens, or ones.
To get the largest value, the highest digit goes in the hundreds column, down to the lowest digit in the ones column.
Let's have another go.
Find the highest number we can make with the following digits: 3 6 4 2
The digits will go in the following columns
Th H T O
6 4 3 2
The highest digit goes in the thousands column down to the lowest in the ones column.
In this number, the 6 digit has a value of 6,000
In this number, the 4 digit has a value of 400
In this number, the 3 digit has a value of 30
In this number, the 2 digit has a value of 2
Does this make sense?
Now, why don't you have a go at some questions like this?