Arithmetic/Bases/Another Look at Decimal (Base 10)

In order to understand bases, you should look at decimal to see how they work first.

For example, look at the number 123:

The 1 in the 100s place means 1 x 100
1 x 100 = 100

The 2 in the 10s place means 2 x 10
2 x 10 = 20
100 + 20 = 120

The 3 in the 1s place means 3 x 1
3 x 1 = 3
100 + 20 + 3 = 123

Notice how 100 = 10², 10 = 10¹, and 1 = 10⁰.