Question

A 7-digit number starts with which place in the Indian system?
(a) lakhs
(b) ten thousands
(c) ten lakhs
(d) crores

Answer 1

Hint: To solve this problem, we need to know the basics of different numeral systems namely international numeral system and Indian numeral system. In this problem, we are concerned primarily with the Indian numeral system and basically try to find out what a 7-digit number is addressed as.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Before solving the problem, we learn the basics of numeral systems. The numeral systems provide a standard procedure to represent the number of objects by mathematical symbols and notation. Although we have international and Indian numeral systems, in this problem, we will be concerned with Indian numeral systems. To explain, let us consider a number, say 445. We see that the digit 4 is used twice in this number. However, both of them have a different value. We differentiate them by stating their place value, which is defined as the numerical value of a digit on the basis of its position in a number. So the place value of the leftmost 4 is Hundreds while the one in the centre is Tens.

Coming back to the Indian numeral system, the place values of digits go in the sequence of Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands, Ten Thousands, Lakhs, Ten Lakhs, Crores and so on. Thus, for one-digit number, it is one while for a 4-digit number, it is thousands. In the problem in hand, we need to find a 7-digit number, this is clearly ten lakhs.
Hence, the correct answer is (c) ten lakhs.

Note: In problems involving numeral systems, it is important to know thoroughly about both the numeral systems and their distinction. For example, although for one-digit numbers, it is one in both the systems, for a five-digit number, there is a difference. In Indian numeral system, a five-digit number’s place is lakhs, while in the international numeral system, it is hundred thousands.