Prior to Year 3, children investigate place value additively – adding the values of the digits to get the value of the number.
In Year 3, children continue to investigate place value additively, and also begin to investigate place value of whole numbers multiplicatively.
This understanding is vital to future understanding of the value of decimals, which are created by extending whole number place value to include fractions – by dividing 1 by 10 to get tenths.
Children use their developing understanding of multiplicative place value of whole numbers to multiply and divide by 10 – integrated Multiplication and Division 9.