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      Powers of 10 and their multiples

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can identify and explain patterns in powers of ten.

      Key learning points

      1. One million is composed of one thousand thousands.
      2. The powers of 10 are the column headings in a place value chart.
      3. Each column is ten times the value of the column to its right.

      Keywords

      • Powers of 10 - A power of 10 is when 10 is multiplied by itself a certain number of times.

      • Million - One million is composed of one thousand thousands. We write one million as a one followed by six zeros.

      Common misconception

      Children may not appreciate the size of one million or that it is composed of 1,000 thousands. Children may find grasping the concept of 'power of 10' tricky.

      Use the place value chart and place value counters to represent the composition of one million. Use the stem sentences: 'One million is composed of 1,000 thousands' and 'Each column is ten times the value to that on its right'.

      Teacher tip

      Have a go at building a 1 m x 1 m x 1 m cube using 12 metre rulers to demonstrate that 1,000,000 ones blocks fit inside that cube. Be aware that children need to be secure with unitising to use PV counters.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What number would come next in the sequence? 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

      Correct Answer: 5,000, 5000

      Q2.
      Ten hundreds is equivalent to ___

      10
      100
      Correct answer: 1,000
      10,000
      100,000

      Q3.
      Insert a number to make this correct. 23 tens are equivalent to

      Correct Answer: 230

      Q4.
      One thousand is ten times the size of ___

      1
      10
      Correct answer: 100
      1,000
      10,000

      Q5.
      One thousand is one-tenth times the size of ___

      1
      10
      100
      1,000
      Correct answer: 10,000

      Q6.
      One million is equivalent to 10 groups of

      Correct Answer: 100,000, one hundred thousand, 100000

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      One million is thousands.

      Correct Answer: 1,000, 1000, one thousand, a thousand

      Q2.
      Which power of 10 is missing in this sequence? 0.1 1 10 1,000 10,000

      Correct Answer: 100

      Q3.
      Match the numeral to its number word.

      Correct Answer:0.01,one hundredth
      Correct Answer:1,000,one thousand
      Correct Answer:10,000,ten thousand
      Correct Answer:100,000,one hundred thousand
      Correct Answer:1,000,000,one million
      Correct Answer:10,000,000,ten million

      Q4.
      10 hundred thousands are equivalent to

      100
      1,000
      10,000
      100,000
      Correct answer: 1,000,000

      Q5.
      Insert a number to make this correct. 15 hundred thousand is equivalent to

      Correct Answer: 1,500,000, 1500000

      Q6.
      70,000,000 made one hundredth times the size is

      700
      7,000
      70,000
      Correct answer: 700,000
      7,000,000

      To help you plan your 6 maths lesson on: Powers of 10 and their multiples, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...