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Secondary 2 · Mathematics
Numbers · Decimal numbers

Operations with Decimal Numbers

Before you start, make sure you know: Operations with decimal numbers (Secondary Year 1 (first cycle))
Before you start, make sure you know: The sexagesimal system (Secondary Year 1 (first cycle))

At a corner store, they mix $2.5$ kg of peanuts at $\text{RD}\$142$ per kilo with $1.75$ kg of raisins at $\text{RD}\$126$ per kilo. How much does a kilo of the mix cost? You already know how to operate with decimals one at a time; now it's time to chain the operations together in real problems without losing the order.

Review: the four operations with decimals

Worked examples of adding, multiplying, and dividing decimal numbers with the rules for each. 12.45 + 8.90 = 21.35 2.5 · 1.80 = 4.500 4.8 : 1.2 = 48 : 12 = 4 add/subtract: line up the points · multiply: count the decimals · divide: remove the decimals from the divisor
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Marcos is saving up to buy a video game. On Monday he had $1\,470$ pesos in his piggy bank. On Tuesday his aunt gave him $945$ pesos and on Wednesday he decided to buy a…

Marcos is saving up to buy a video game. On Monday he had $1\,470$ pesos in his piggy bank. On Tuesday his aunt gave him $945$ pesos and on Wednesday he decided to buy a phone case costing $738$ pesos. How much money does Marcos have in his piggy bank right now? Perform the calculation lining up the decimal points correctly.

Solve
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In the school canteen, a large bag of mixed nuts costs $3.45$ pesos. Three friends decide to buy it to share and split the cost equally. How much money should each…

In the school canteen, a large bag of mixed nuts costs $3.45$ pesos. Three friends decide to buy it to share and split the cost equally. How much money should each person contribute? Perform the division making sure you get two exact decimal places.

Solve
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A can of fizzy drink has a capacity of $0.33$ liters. If a cardboard box holds 12 cans, how many liters of drink are there in total in a full box? Work out the…

A can of fizzy drink has a capacity of $0.33$ liters. If a cardboard box holds 12 cans, how many liters of drink are there in total in a full box? Work out the multiplication manually.

0.33 L 1 can × 12 Box with 12 cans ? L in total
Solve

Powers of 10 and square roots of decimals

Multiplying or dividing by $10$, $100$, or $1{,}000$ is the quickest thing there is: you only move the decimal point.

Examples: $3.47 \times 100 = 347$ and $52.6 : 1{,}000 = 0.0526$. If digits are missing, fill in with zeros.

For the square root of a decimal, think of the number without the point. Since $23 \times 23 = 529$, then $2.3 \times 2.3 = 5.29$ (two decimal places in total), and that's why $\sqrt{5.29} = 2.3$. The root has half as many decimal places as the number.

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Calculate the following products and quotients by powers of 10 mentally. Remember that you only need to move the decimal point to the left or right as appropriate: a)…

Calculate the following products and quotients by powers of 10 mentally. Remember that you only need to move the decimal point to the left or right as appropriate:

  1. a) $45.8 \times 100 =$
  2. b) $125.3 : 10 =$
  3. c) $0.75 \times 1000 =$
  4. d) $34.2 : 100 =$
Solve
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Ainhoa wants to put a square rug in her room. If the area covered by the rug is $5.29$ m², what is the length of the side of the rug? Calculate the exact square root of…

Ainhoa wants to put a square rug in her room. If the area covered by the rug is $5.29$ m², what is the length of the side of the rug? Calculate the exact square root of the decimal number. (Hint: Think which integer multiplied by itself gives $529$).

Solve

Combined operations: the order doesn't change

With decimals you follow the same order as with whole numbers: first parentheses, then powers and roots, then multiplications and divisions (from left to right), and finally additions and subtractions.

Order of solving a combined operation: first the parentheses, then the product, and finally the subtraction. 0.4 · (0.5 + 0.25) − 0.1 1ºparentheses 2ºproduct 3ºsubtraction last
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Apply the order of operations to solve the following expression with decimal numbers. Remember to carry out the operation inside brackets first: $$(4.5 + 2.1) \times 0.5…

Apply the order of operations to solve the following expression with decimal numbers. Remember to carry out the operation inside brackets first:

$$(4.5 + 2.1) \times 0.5 - 1.25$$
Solve
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Calculate the result of the following expression according to the order of operations and the rule of signs: $15.8 - 2.5 \times (4.2 - 3.75) + (1.24 + 0.36) : 0.4$

Calculate the result of the following expression according to the order of operations and the rule of signs:

$15.8 - 2.5 \times (4.2 - 3.75) + (1.24 + 0.36) : 0.4$

Solve

Multi-step problems with money and data

Real-life problems chain together purchases, fees, losses, and gains. Before calculating, set up the whole expression.

Step diagram: sum of expenses, fee, and final balance in the account. expenses: 12.45 + 8.12 + 5.67 + 1.23 = 27.47 + fee 2.25 150 − (27.47 + 2.25) = 120.28 pesos left in the account
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A streamer is analysing the data consumption of their recent live streams. In the first hour they used $2.45$ GB, in the second hour $1.8$ GB, and in the third, due to a…

A streamer is analysing the data consumption of their recent live streams. In the first hour they used $2.45$ GB, in the second hour $1.8$ GB, and in the third, due to a technical glitch, only $0.95$ GB. If they have a monthly plan of $15$ GB and had already spent $6.25$ GB before starting these streams, how many gigabytes do they have left in their data plan?

Solve
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An automatic savings app rounds each of your purchases up to the nearest pesos and saves the difference in a digital piggy bank. During an afternoon of shopping, you…

An automatic savings app rounds each of your purchases up to the nearest pesos and saves the difference in a digital piggy bank. During an afternoon of shopping, you made the following payments:

  • Subscription to a gaming channel: $12.45$ pesos.

  • Afternoon snack with friends: $8.12$ pesos.

  • Phone case: $5.67$ pesos.

  • Sticker pack: $1.23$ pesos.

Calculate the value of the following expression to find how much money you have left in your bank account if you initially had $150$ pesos and, in addition to the purchases, the bank charged you a maintenance fee of $2.25$ pesos:

$$150 - (12.45 + 8.12 + 5.67 + 1.23 + 2.25) - H$$

Where $H$ is the total sum of the roundings sent to the digital piggy bank.

Solve
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In a bulk dried fruit and nut shop, they want to prepare a special "Energy" mix. They mix $2.5$ kg of walnuts at $852$ pesos/kg, $1.75$ kg of almonds at $756$ pesos/kg,…

In a bulk dried fruit and nut shop, they want to prepare a special "Energy" mix. They mix $2.5$ kg of walnuts at $852$ pesos/kg, $1.75$ kg of almonds at $756$ pesos/kg, and $0.75$ kg of raisins at $387$ pesos/kg.

Due to handling, it is estimated that the total weight of the mix is reduced by $0.05$ kg due to the loss of shells and dust. At what price per kilogram should they sell the resulting mix to obtain a total profit of $930$ pesos over the cost of the ingredients?

Solve

Averages, gaps, and rates

Three very common situations with decimals.

  • Difference between two values: subtract the smaller from the larger.

  • Mean (average): add up all the values and divide by how many there are.

  • Constant rate: if $a$ liters per minute flow in and $b$ flow out, each minute the level changes by $a - b$; in $t$ minutes it changes by $t(a - b)$.

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Complete the gaps in the pyramid so that the value of each box is the sum of the two numbers directly below it.

Complete the gaps in the pyramid so that the value of each box is the sum of the two numbers directly below it.

1.15 2.09 −0.5 3.24 ? ? + + +
Solve
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In a swimming competition, the times of the top three swimmers in the $100$-meter freestyle event were: Swimmer A: $48.25$ seconds. Swimmer B: $49.12$ seconds. Swimmer…

In a swimming competition, the times of the top three swimmers in the $100$-meter freestyle event were:

  • Swimmer A: $48.25$ seconds.

  • Swimmer B: $49.12$ seconds.

  • Swimmer C: $48.09$ seconds.

Calculate the time difference between the gold medalist and the bronze medalist. What is the mean time of the three swimmers? Round the mean to two decimal places.

Solve
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A water tank has a capacity of $120.5$ liters. A faucet is turned on that pours in $4.25$ liters per minute. Simultaneously, the tank has a leak through which $0.75$…

A water tank has a capacity of $120.5$ liters. A faucet is turned on that pours in $4.25$ liters per minute. Simultaneously, the tank has a leak through which $0.75$ liters per minute are lost. If the tank initially contained $15.25$ liters, how many liters will it have after $12$ minutes of operation?

Solve

Areas, volumes, and speed with decimals

The same care applies to formulas: areas with $\pi$, volumes, and speeds.

Annulus formed by two concentric circles with outer radius R and inner radius r. annulus: π · (R² − r²) R = 5.5 cm, r = 2.5 cm area ≈ 75.40 cm²
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The new logo for an e-sports team consists of an annulus (the shaded area between two concentric circles). The designer needs to know the exact area to order the vinyl…

The new logo for an e-sports team consists of an annulus (the shaded area between two concentric circles). The designer needs to know the exact area to order the vinyl stickers. The radius of the larger circle measures $6.25$ cm and the radius of the inner circle is $3.5$ cm.

Using as the value of $\pi \approx 3.1416$, calculate the area of the shaded region working with all decimals during the calculations, and round the final result to two decimal places.

R = 6.25 cm r = 3.5 cm Area = π · (R² - r²)
Solve
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A racing drone has traveled a distance of $14.58$ kilometers in $12$ minutes and $45$ seconds. 1. Express the total flight time in hours using decimal numbers (round to…

A racing drone has traveled a distance of $14.58$ kilometers in $12$ minutes and $45$ seconds.

  1. Express the total flight time in hours using decimal numbers (round to four decimal places).

  2. Calculate the average speed of the drone in km/h using the previous value.

  3. If the circuit record is a speed of $70.25$ km/h, by how many kilometers per hour did the drone fall short of matching the record?

Solve
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An architect designs a swimming pool in the shape of a cuboid whose internal dimensions are $5.25$ m long, $3.40$ m wide and $1.85$ m deep. 1. Calculate the maximum…

An architect designs a swimming pool in the shape of a cuboid whose internal dimensions are $5.25$ m long, $3.40$ m wide and $1.85$ m deep.

  1. Calculate the maximum volume of water the pool can hold in cubic meters.

  2. If the architect estimates the volume by truncating each dimension to one decimal place, what is the estimated volume?

  3. Calculate the absolute error made between the actual volume and the volume estimated by truncation.

5.25 m 3.40 m 1.85 m
Solve

Repeating decimals and scientific notation in operations

When a repeating decimal appears, it's best to convert it to its generating fraction and operate with fractions: that way the result is exact. Only at the end do you convert to a decimal and round.

With very large quantities, scientific notation $a \times 10^n$ is used. To multiply, you multiply the numbers and add the exponents: $(1.2 \times 10^3) \times 60 = 72 \times 10^3 = 7.2 \times 10^4$.

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Solve the following combined operation respecting the order of operations and working with generating fractions when recurring numbers appear. Express the final result…

Solve the following combined operation respecting the order of operations and working with generating fractions when recurring numbers appear. Express the final result in decimal form rounded to three decimal places:

$$3.25 : 0.5^2 - \sqrt{0.64} + 1.2 \times (4, \hat{3} - 2.1 \hat{6})$$
Solve
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A hummingbird's heart beats approximately $1.2 \times 10^3$ times per minute at rest. 1. How many times does its heart beat in a full day? Express the result in…

A hummingbird's heart beats approximately $1.2 \times 10^3$ times per minute at rest.

  1. How many times does its heart beat in a full day? Express the result in scientific notation.

  2. If the average life expectancy of this hummingbird is $5.5$ years, how many beats will it make in total throughout its life? (Assume a year has $365.25$ days).

  3. If one beat displaces $0.025$ milliliters of blood, how many liters of blood does it pump in one hour?

Solve

Back to the beginning: the corner store's mix costs $575.5$ pesos for $4.25$ kg, that is, about $\text{RD}\$135.41$ per kilo. It must be sold for more than that price to make a profit.

Summary

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