Place Value Practice: Separating 97 into Tens and Units

To decompose the number 97 into tens and units, we perform the following steps:

• Step 1: Identify the tens place.
  Since 97 is composed of tens, we divide it by 10: $97 \div 10 = 9.7$. The integer part is 9, indicating 9 tens.
• Step 2: Identify the units place.
  To find the units, we take the remainder of the division: $97 \mod 10 = 7$. This gives us 7 units.

Therefore, the number 97 can be separated into 9 tens and 7 units, which corresponds to choice 4:

9 tens and 7 units