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When it comes to numbers with decimal points, the position of each digit is crucial to understanding its value. Suppose we're working with a set of numbers such as 0.24, 0.024, 0.204, and 0.0024. Here, each digit's location relative to the decimal point determines its 'place value'.

Let's make it simple: if you imagine money, the number immediately to the right of the decimal - like the '2' in 0.24 - represents dimes, or tenths of a dollar. The next number, the '4' in this case, represents cents, or hundredths of a dollar. So, 0.24 is the same as 24 cents. Similarly, with 0.204, you have 20 cents and an additional 4 thousandths of a dollar. Understanding this is the foundation for ordering decimal numbers correctly.

To compare decimals, we start at the leftmost digit after the decimal point and work our way right. Just like lining up kids by height, we look at the tallest first (here, the digit with the highest place value) then move to the next if needed.

Imagine we need to compare 0.24 and 0.204. Both have '2' in the tenths place, but 0.24 has a '4' in the hundredths place while 0.204 only has a zero there. This makes 0.24 larger. On the other hand, comparing 0.024 to 0.0024 is a bit different; we see that 0.0024 has fewer tenths than 0.024, making it smaller. The key is to compare digits in the same place value one place at a time, from left to right.

Every digit in a decimal number has a specific value based on its position, which is called its 'place value'. The first position to the immediate right of the decimal point stands for tenths, followed by hundredths, thousandths, and so on. For instance, in the number 0.024, the '2' is in the hundredths place and holds less value than the '2' in the tenths place of 0.24.

Knowing this, we can order 0.0024, 0.024, 0.204, and 0.24 properly, because we understand that the further right a digit is, the less impact it has on the overall number. Recognizing these place values is like understanding weights on a balance scale; the weights further from the center have less influence than those close to the fulcrum (decimal point).