Place value — assess the statement: “The most significant digit (MSD) is the rightmost, largest-weight digit in a number.” Use standard positional notation where place value increases to the left.

Introduction / Context:
Understanding “most significant digit” (MSD) and “least significant digit” (LSD) is essential in number systems, digital design, and data formatting. MSD determines the largest contribution to the overall value due to its positional weight. This question evaluates whether the MSD is the rightmost digit, as the statement claims, or the leftmost digit in standard notation.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Standard positional system: place value increases to the left for integers.
• Rightmost integer digit has the smallest weight (units place).
• We are not discussing bit-endianness in memory layout but numeric place value.

Concept / Approach:
For integers, the leftmost digit is the most significant because it multiplies the highest power of the base. For example, in base 10, 7 in 7,000 (thousands place) contributes more than any digit to its right. Therefore, the MSD is leftmost; the rightmost is the LSD. For fixed-point fractions to the right of the radix point, significance decreases further to the right (tenths, hundredths), but the integer part's MSD remains on the left side.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider 9,876: MSD = 9 (thousands place), LSD = 6 (units place). The same principle applies in binary, octal, hex, and BCD representations.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Correct: Conflicts with positional notation.
• “Correct only for fixed-point fractions” / “Correct only in BCD”: Misinterpret significance; BCD still follows positional weight, and fraction positions to the right of the radix have smaller weights.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing endianness (byte order in memory) with digit significance; mixing visual position with storage order in computing systems.

Final Answer:
Incorrect — the MSD is the leftmost highest-weight digit; the rightmost is the LSD.