Decimal Numbers: Concept
In the school's $100$-meter dash final, Ximena ran $12.45$ seconds and Diego ran $12.408$. Who won? To find out, you have to read the decimals carefully and compare them. On this page you will learn to read them, order them, place them on the number line, write them as fractions, and recognize what type they are.
Place value in decimals
The decimal point separates the whole-number part from the decimal part. After the point, each place is worth $10$ times less than the previous one.
So, $42.308 = 4$ tens $+ 2$ ones $+ 3$ tenths $+ 0$ hundredths $+ 8$ thousandths, or $40 + 2 + \frac{3}{10} + \frac{8}{1{,}000}$.
State the place value (units, tenths, hundredths or thousandths) of the digit $7$ in each of the following numbers: a) $15.72$ b) $0.007$ c) $7.431$ d) $2.075$
State the place value (units, tenths, hundredths or thousandths) of the digit $7$ in each of the following numbers:
- a) $15.72$
- b) $0.007$
- c) $7.431$
- d) $2.075$
Expand the following decimal numbers according to their place value units, as in the example: Example: $4.25 = 4$ Units + $2$ tenths + $5$ hundredths.* a) $8.39$ b)…
Expand the following decimal numbers according to their place value units, as in the example:
Example: $4.25 = 4$ Units + $2$ tenths + $5$ hundredths.
- a) $8.39$
- b) $12.045$
- c) $0.614$
Complete these equivalences between place values: a) $4$ units = tenths. b) $70$ hundredths = tenths. c) $5$ tenths = thousandths. d) $300$ thousandths = hundredths.
Complete these equivalences between place values:
- a) $4$ units = ____ tenths.
- b) $70$ hundredths = ____ tenths.
- c) $5$ tenths = ____ thousandths.
- d) $300$ thousandths = ____ hundredths.
In a science laboratory, a group of students measured the mass of a mineral sample using a precision balance. The result obtained is $42.308$ grams. State what place…
In a science laboratory, a group of students measured the mass of a mineral sample using a precision balance. The result obtained is $42.308$ grams.
State what place value each digit represents in this number:
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The digit $4$ represents the ............................
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The digit $2$ represents the ............................
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The digit $3$ represents the ............................
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The digit $0$ represents the ............................
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The digit $8$ represents the ............................
Also write its expanded form using units and decimal fractions.
A decimal number is made up of $4$ units, $15$ tenths, $27$ hundredths and $105$ thousandths. Make the necessary regroupings (for example, $10$ thousandths make $1$…
A decimal number is made up of $4$ units, $15$ tenths, $27$ hundredths and $105$ thousandths. Make the necessary regroupings (for example, $10$ thousandths make $1$ hundredth, $10$ hundredths make $1$ tenth and $10$ tenths make $1$ unit) to write the number correctly in standard decimal form and then state how many thousandths in total this number contains.
Reading and writing decimals
With money it's easy: $\$8.15$ is read "eight dollars and fifteen cents." Cents are hundredths of a dollar. In general, you read the whole-number part and then the decimal part with the name of its last digit: $0.408$ is "four hundred eight thousandths."
In a sports store, the prices of three items have been written in words. Write in your notebook the decimal number that corresponds to each one using digits: a) Swimming…
In a sports store, the prices of three items have been written in words. Write in your notebook the decimal number that corresponds to each one using digits:
- a) Swimming goggles costing eight pesos and fifteen cents.
- b) A tennis ball costing two pesos and eight cents.
- c) Running shorts costing twelve pesos and fifty cents.
Find out which number it is, knowing that it satisfies the following conditions: 1. Its whole part is the smallest even prime number. 2. It has four decimal places. 3.…
Find out which number it is, knowing that it satisfies the following conditions:
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Its whole part is the smallest even prime number.
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It has four decimal places.
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The thousandths digit is three times the tenths digit.
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The sum of all its digits is $15$.
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The ten-thousandths digit is half of the hundredths digit.
Comparing decimal numbers
To compare, look at the whole-number part; if it matches, compare tenths, then hundredths, and so on, from left to right. To avoid confusion, make the number of decimal digits the same by adding zeros.
In a race the smallest time wins: $12.099 < 12.408 < 12.41 < 12.45 < 12.5$. So Diego, with $12.408$, beat Ximena ($12.45$).
Copy into your notebook and use the symbols $<$ or $>$ to compare these pairs of decimal numbers: a) $5.4$ $5.39$ b) $0.25$ $0.3$ c) $12.07$ $12.071$ d) $6.1$ $6.099$
Copy into your notebook and use the symbols $<$ or $>$ to compare these pairs of decimal numbers:
- a) $5.4$ ____ $5.39$
- b) $0.25$ ____ $0.3$
- c) $12.07$ ____ $12.071$
- d) $6.1$ ____ $6.099$
In the school Olympics, the times recorded in the $100$ meters flat final were very close. The judges recorded the following results in seconds: $12.45$ — $12.408$ —…
In the school Olympics, the times recorded in the $100$ meters flat final were very close. The judges recorded the following results in seconds:
$12.45$ — $12.408$ — $12.5$ — $12.099$ — $12.41$
Order the runners from fastest (shortest time) to slowest (longest time) using the symbol $<$ and write out in words the decimal number that corresponds to the gold medal winner.
Lucía is packing her backpack for a trip. She bought a bottle of water for $1.25$ pesos, a bag of nuts for $3.050$ pesos, and a cap for $9.9$ pesos. a) Write all the…
Lucía is packing her backpack for a trip. She bought a bottle of water for $1.25$ pesos, a bag of nuts for $3.050$ pesos, and a cap for $9.9$ pesos.
- a) Write all the prices so that they have the same number of decimal places (adding zeros if necessary).
- b) Convert the price of the cap into an irreducible fraction.
- c) How many pesos cents does the bag of nuts cost?
Decimals on the number line
To place a decimal on the number line, divide into $10$ equal parts the segment where it falls. If you want more precision, divide each part into $10$ again.
Between any two decimals there is always another, no matter how close they are: between $0.56$ and $0.57$ fit $0.561$, $0.565$, $0.5699$... and you can always keep dividing. This does not happen with integers: between $3$ and $4$ there is no integer. The number exactly halfway between $a$ and $b$ is calculated with $\frac{a+b}{2}$.
Look at the following number line and write which decimal number corresponds to each of the letters marked with an orange dot:
Look at the following number line and write which decimal number corresponds to each of the letters marked with an orange dot:
Observe the following number line where several points are represented. Identify which terminating decimal number corresponds to each of the marked letters ($A$, $B$ and…
Observe the following number line where several points are represented. Identify which terminating decimal number corresponds to each of the marked letters ($A$, $B$ and $C$).
One of the most interesting properties of decimal numbers is that we can always find another number between two given ones, no matter how close together they are.…
One of the most interesting properties of decimal numbers is that we can always find another number between two given ones, no matter how close together they are.
Represent graphically on a number line the interval between $0.56$ and $0.57$ and mark on it three decimal numbers that lie between them.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
Find a decimal number $x$ that is at exactly the same distance from $3.14$ and $3.15$. Express it both in decimal form and as an irreducible fraction. What type of…
Find a decimal number $x$ that is at exactly the same distance from $3.14$ and $3.15$. Express it both in decimal form and as an irreducible fraction. What type of decimal number is the result?
Represent on a number line the interval between $5.67$ and $5.68$. Divide this interval into ten equal parts (each part measures $0.001$) and mark the exact position of…
Represent on a number line the interval between $5.67$ and $5.68$. Divide this interval into ten equal parts (each part measures $0.001$) and mark the exact position of the numbers $5.674$ and $5.679$.
- a) Draw the line with the interval divided into ten equal parts and write the corresponding numbers under the marks.
- b) Mark the numbers $5.674$ and $5.679$ on your line.
- c) Find a decimal number that has exactly five decimal places (the last digit different from $0$) and that lies between $5.674$ and $5.679$.
Decimals and decimal fractions
A decimal with a limited number of digits can be written as a fraction with denominator $10$, $100$, $1{,}000$... with as many zeros as decimal digits.
It also works the other way around: a fraction with denominator $10$, $100$, $1{,}000$... is written by moving the decimal point. For example, $\frac{3}{10} = 0.3$, $\frac{1}{100} = 0.01$, $\frac{1}{1{,}000} = 0.001$, and $\frac{1}{100{,}000} = 0.00001$. The number of zeros in the denominator tells you how many places there are after the point.
Match each decimal number with its corresponding decimal fraction: Numbers: $0.7$ | $0.07$ | $7.7$ | $0.77$ Fractions: $\frac{77}{100}$ | $\frac{7}{10}$ |…
Match each decimal number with its corresponding decimal fraction:
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Numbers: $0.7$ | $0.07$ | $7.7$ | $0.77$
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Fractions: $\frac{77}{100}$ | $\frac{7}{10}$ | $\frac{7}{100}$ | $\frac{77}{10}$
If we divide a square into $100$ equal parts, each part is one hundredth ($0.01$). Look at the following image and write which decimal number represents the orange…
If we divide a square into $100$ equal parts, each part is one hundredth ($0.01$). Look at the following image and write which decimal number represents the orange shaded area:
A nanometer ($nm$) is equivalent to $0.000000001$ meters. If the thickness of a human hair is approximately $0.08$ millimeters, express this thickness in meters using…
A nanometer ($nm$) is equivalent to $0.000000001$ meters. If the thickness of a human hair is approximately $0.08$ millimeters, express this thickness in meters using powers of $10$ and determine how many nanometers the hair measures.
Terminating, purely repeating, and mixed repeating
Not all fractions give decimals that end. There are three types.
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Terminating: it has a finite number of decimal digits.
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Purely repeating: right after the point, a group of digits repeats, the period ($2.\overline{3}$, $14.\overline{25}$).
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Mixed repeating: between the point and the period there are digits that do not repeat, the preperiod ($0.1\overline{6}$).
A decimal like $3.141592\ldots$, with no repeating period, is not repeating (π is an example).
Classify the following decimal numbers, indicating whether they are terminating decimals, pure recurring decimals or mixed recurring decimals. For recurring decimals,…
Classify the following decimal numbers, indicating whether they are terminating decimals, pure recurring decimals or mixed recurring decimals. For recurring decimals, clearly state what the recurring part is and, if present, the non-recurring part:
- a) $5.08$
- b) $2.333...$
- c) $14.252525...$
- d) $0.1666...$
- e) $3.141592...$ (is this last one a recurring decimal number?)
Sometimes fractions help us better understand the type of decimal number we have. Without performing long division, classify the decimal expansion of the following…
Sometimes fractions help us better understand the type of decimal number we have. Without performing long division, classify the decimal expansion of the following fractions as terminating or recurring:
- a) $\frac{7}{20}$
- b) $\frac{4}{9}$
- c) $\frac{13}{6}$
- d) $\frac{1}{25}$
Classify the following fractions according to the type of decimal expansion they generate (Terminating, Pure Recurring or Mixed Recurring) without performing the…
Classify the following fractions according to the type of decimal expansion they generate (Terminating, Pure Recurring or Mixed Recurring) without performing the division, based solely on the prime factorisation of their denominators:
- a) $\frac{7}{40}$
- b) $\frac{5}{18}$
- c) $\frac{11}{21}$
- d) $\frac{9}{250}$
From fraction to decimal
To write a fraction as a decimal there are two strategies.
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Divide the numerator by the denominator.
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Scale up until the denominator is $10$, $100$, $1{,}000$... (only if possible).
Order the following decimal numbers mixed with fractions from smallest to largest. To compare them, convert all the elements to their decimal form with at least four…
Order the following decimal numbers mixed with fractions from smallest to largest. To compare them, convert all the elements to their decimal form with at least four decimal places:
$1.2\widehat{5}$ ; $\frac{5}{4}$ ; $1.2525...$ ; $1.25$ ; $\frac{11}{9}$
From repeating decimal to fraction
A repeating decimal is also a fraction, called the generating fraction. The idea: multiply by a power of $10$ so the period "moves forward," and subtract so the repeated digits cancel out.
Write the irreducible generating fraction of the following recurring decimal numbers, showing the step-by-step process: a) $2.1\widehat{36}$ b) $0.00\widehat{5}$
Write the irreducible generating fraction of the following recurring decimal numbers, showing the step-by-step process:
- a) $2.1\widehat{36}$
- b) $0.00\widehat{5}$
Back to the beginning: Diego won with $12.408$ because, matching digits, $12.408 < 12.450$.