Whole Number & Decimal - Powers of 10

The ‘Why’: Why do we count in 10’s?

This lesson builds on the understanding of Place value and includes a recap of this if the first place value lesson wasn’t used.

When asking students, “Why do we count in tens?” the suggestions around the room are often “Because we do” or “Because that’s the system that makes sense”. Students are often surprised to learn that it is likely due to the convenience of having 10 fingers.

Showing the pattern that leads to anything to the power of 1 and 0 also allows students to understand that this pattern goes on in both directions forever.

Once there is a good understanding of negative powers of 10, a task framing the usefulness of this to Motorsport lap times is included as extension. There is also a short introduction to standard form which students often see on their calculators.

Activities included:
Pocket Money Starter
The History of Number Systems
Place Value Recap
Counting in Tens
Definition of Powers
Multiplying by Powers of 10
Dividing by Powers of 10
Negative Powers
Standard Form
Motorsport