AI Tutor
Imagine holding a single millimeter-thin grain of sand in your hand. If a whole block of clay were sliced into one thousand identical tiny grains, each grain would be one thousandth of the block.
How do we get from one big whole all the way down to these tiny pieces?

From One Whole to One Thousandth

Every time we divide a piece into 10 equal parts, we move one step smaller in our decimal system.
If you cut 1 whole into 10 equal slices, each piece is 1 tenth (110\frac{1}{10} or 0.10.1). Cut each tenth into 10 equal strips, and you get 1 hundredth (1100\frac{1}{100} or 0.010.01).
Now cut each hundredth into 10 tiny cubes — you get 1 thousandth (11000\frac{1}{1000} or 0.0010.001).
What happens if you zoom in on just one hundredth strip?

One Tenth of One Hundredth

A thousandth is not just 11000\frac{1}{1000} of the whole — it is also exactly one tenth of one hundredth.
Because 10×100=100010 \times 100 = 1000, dividing 1100\frac{1}{100} by 1010 creates 11000\frac{1}{1000}.
Where does this tiny value live on a place value chart?