DECIMALS: Electrical MATH13431 N.

Potter
 Decimals, like fractions, provide a way to deal with parts of wholes.
 Decimals are equivalent to fractions with denominators that are powers of 10.

Powers of 10: numbers whose only digits are a single 1 and any number of zeroes. Eg. 100,000 or 0.0001

PLACE VALUES OF DECIMALS:

NOTE: The first place to the

right of the decimal is the
tenth column, not the units
or one column.

ROUNDING DECIMALS: Eg. Round 1738.9195

1. Locate the rounding place value . To 1 decimal place: 1738.9
2. If the digit to the right of the round off place is 5 or greater, round up. Otherwise th
To the nearest 100 : 1738.92
leave the rounding digit as is. To the nearest 100: 1700
3. When rounding to a place value on the right side of the decimal point, DO NOT th
To the nearest 1000 : 1738.920
replace the digits right of the round off place with zeroes
Practice: 1. Round each of the following to i) the nearest tenth, ii) the nearest hundred, iii) the nearest hundredth

a) 438.253 b) 369.0285 c) 1,899.945 d) 2,529.098

Answers: 1) a) i) 438.3, ii) 400, iii)438.25, b) i) 369.0, ii) 400, iii) 369.03, c) i) 1,899.9, ii) 1,900, iii) 1,899.95, d) i) 2,529.1, ii) 2,500, iii) 2,529.10

CONVERTING FROM FRACTIONS TO DECIMALS:

Method 1: Write as an equivalent fraction with a power of ten denominator
Eg. The fraction button on
your calculator can
Method 2: Divide denominator into numerator (numerator by denominator) convert fractions to
Eg. “Terminating decimal”: = 0.625 decimals.
Eg: “Nonterminating decimal”:
 Repeating: (rational) ̅
 Nonrepeating: (irrational) ,
The fraction button
can change some, but
CONVERTING FROM DECIMALS TO FRACTIONS: not all, decimals to
Method 1: “Read the decimal”. Write the decimal as the fraction you’re reading, and reduce. fractions.
Eg. 0.45 “45 hundredths”
Method 2: Write over the appropriate power of ten, and reduce.
 The numerator is the digits right of the decimal written as a whole number Eg.
 The denominator is 1 followed by as many zeroes as there are digits to the right of the decimal

ADDING AND SUBTRACTING DECIMALS:

1. Set up the numbers to be added or subtracted in column form, so their decimal places line up.
2. Add zeroes to the right of the last digit, if desired, to help line up place values.
3. Add or subtract as with whole numbers.
4. Place the answer’s decimal point in line with the others.
NOTES: → A whole number’s decimal is to the right of the digit in the 1’s column.
→ ORDER MATTERS when you are subtracting.
→When there is more than one operation, use BEDMAS for order of operations
Practice: From the textbook: Unit 11, p. 62, odds Adding Decimals
Unit 12, p. 66, odds Subtracting Decimals

MULTIPLYING DECIMALS:
 Multiplying a number by a factor greater than 1 will make the number LARGER Eg. 12 x 5 = 60
 Multiplying a number by a factor less than 1 will make the number SMALLER Eg. 12 x 0.5 = 6

Traditional Multiplication: Eg. 3.275 x 5.6 Lattice Multiplication: Eg. 3.275 x 5.6

1. Estimate the answer. Eg. 3 x 6 = 18 1. Draw the lattice as with whole numbers, with one column
2. Multiply as with whole numbers, for each digit in the first factor and one column for each digit in
ignoring the decimal points in the the second factor.
factors, to get the digits of the 2. Perform the indicated multiplications in the lattice.
product. 3. Add the diagonals to
3. Place the decimal place in the get the digits of the
product: Add up the total number of product.
decimal places in each factor. This 4. Follow the diagonal
will be the number of decimal places where the factors’
in the product. decimal points meet to
4. Check this result with your estimate. place the decimal in the
Eg. The answer, 18.34 is close to the estimate of 18. answer.

Practice:
From the textbook: Unit 13, p. 70, odds

DIVIDING DECIMALS:
 Dividing by a number greater than 1 will make the number SMALLER Eg. 30 5 = 6
 Dividing by a number less than 1 will make the number LARGER Eg. 30 0.5 = 60

Eg. 5.36 0.2

1. Estimate the answer.
2. Set the question up as a long division.
3. Move the decimal in the divisor as many places as needed to make it a whole number.
4. To offset this change, move the decimal place in the dividend the same number of places
and in the same direction. Add zeroes as place holders if necessary.
5. Divide as with whole numbers, lining up digits carefully.
6. The decimal in the quotient (answer) lines up with the decimal in the dividend.
7. Check the answer with your estimate.

Practice: From the textbook: Unit 14, p. 73, odds Dividing Fractions
Unit 16, p. 82, odds Combined Operations with Fractions

CALCULATING AVERAGES:
To find the average of a set of data points:
1. Find the sum of the data points.
2. Divide this sum by the number of data points.

Eg. Find the average of 12.3, 8.9, 14.6, 15.3 and 21.4

Practice: From the textbook: Unit 20, p. 99, odds