Place value and ordering

The digit 5 means very different things in 5, 50 and 500. Its place gives it value. Each place is worth ten times the place to its right. A zero holds a place open, so $4\,062$ and $462$ are different numbers.

So $4\,062 = 4 \times 1000 + 0 \times 100 + 6 \times 10 + 2 \times 1$.

Comparing numbers

To compare two numbers, compare their places from the left. The first place where they differ decides.