Converting Fractions into Decimals

1. What are the following fractions written as decimals? How do you know?

1
2

3
4

2
10

2. What are the following fractions written as decimals? How do you know?

4
5

18
25

13
4

3. Show how you can use division to find the decimal equivalent of the following fractions.

7
8

1
6

23
12

4. Malia found a short cut to find the decimal representation of the fraction 117
250 . Rather than
using long division she noticed that because 250 4 = 1000 ,
117
1174
468
250 = 2504 = 1000
a. For which of the following fractions does Malias strategy work to find the decimal
representation?
1 3
6 18 13
113
3 , 4 , 25 , 7 , 8 , 40
For each one in which the strategy works, use it to find the decimal representation.

b. For which denominators can Malias strategy work?

Challenge:
Sarah learned that in order to change a fraction to a decimal, she can use the standard division
algorithm and divide the numerator by the denominator. She noticed that for some fractions, like 14
1
and 100
the algorithm terminates at the hundredths place. For other fractions, like 18 , she needed to
go to the thousandths place before the remainder disappears. For other fractions, like 13 and 16 , the
decimal does not terminate. Sarah wonders which fractions have terminating decimals and how she
can tell how many decimal places they have.
a. Convert each of the following fractions to decimals to help Sarah look for patterns with her
decimal conversions:

b. Which fractions on the list have terminating decimals (decimals that eventually end in 0's)?
What do the denominators have in common?

c. Which fractions on the list have repeating decimals? What do the denominators have in
common?

d. Which fractions q (in reduced form) do you think have terminating decimal representations?
Which do you think have repeating decimal representations?