Chapter 4 – Decimals

I always say when you see that old black-and-white footage of the rocket on the launch
pad and it falls over and explodes, that’s because people had slide rules. Not having the
decimal point is a real drawback. You want the decimal point, take it from me. -Bill
Nye

Try these!
1. Add 2.372 to 14.04
2. Add 3.032, 7.89 and 103.2
3. Subtract 7.35 from 11.004
4. Multiply 0.05 by 1.3
5. Divide 4.214 by 0.49

4.1. Decimal Concepts

We use fractions to express the numbers smaller than 1. We can also express a number
smaller than one by using decimal point. A decimal is a number expressed in the scale of
tens. Decimal is derived from ‘decem’ the Latin word which means 10. Remember, 10 is
the base of the decimal system.

In algebra, a decimal number can be defined as a number whose whole number part and
the fractional part is separated by a decimal point. The dot in a decimal number is called
a decimal point (.). The digits following the decimal point show a value smaller than one.
Fractions can also be expressed as decimal Fractions.

Whole numbers and Decimal place values

Whole number digits Decimal number digits

Ten (10) Tenth (0.1)

Hundred (100) Hundredth (0.01)

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 Thousand (1,000) Thousandth (0.001)

Ten thousand(10,000) Ten thousandth (0.0001)

Hundred thousand (100,000) Hundred thousandth (0.00001)

Million (1,000,000) Millionth (0.000001)

As we move left, each position is 10 times bigger!

Tens are 10 times bigger than Ones
Hundreds are 10 times bigger than Tens and…
As we move right, each position is 10 times smaller.
From Hundreds, to Tens, to Ones
And if we continue past Ones

10 times smaller than Ones is

4.1.1 Naming Decimals

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In Naming decimals, the decimal point and the place value of the last digit are significant.
Naming the integer part of the decimal is similar to naming whole numbers.
With naming the fractional part, there are additional steps to be considered.

 Separate the whole number at the left side (integer part) of the decimal point from
the whole number at the right side (fractional part) of the decimal point.
 Read the decimal number from left to right.
 Name the integer part normally as naming a whole number.
 The decimal point is replaced with "and'.
 Name the fraction part as naming a whole number and use the place value name
for the last digit of the decimal after.

For example:
a. Write 20.13 in words.

Solution:
Separate the integer part from the fractional part.
20 integer part

⋅ decimal point
13 fractional part

Name the integer part normally as a whole number.

20 = twenty
Replace the decimal point with "and".

⋅ = and
Name the fractional part as a whole number and use the place value name for the
last digit of the decimal after.
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 13 - thirteen
3 is the hundredth's digit of 20.13.
Use hundredths

Combining the names;

20.13 = twenty and thirteen hundredths

Therefore, 20.13 is twenty and thirteen hundredths in words.

b. Write 1.20 in words.

Solution:
Separate the integer part from the fractional part.
1 integer part
⋅ decimal point
20 fractional part

Name the integer part normally as a whole number.

1 = one
Replace the decimal point with "and".
⋅ = and
Since the last digit of the fractional part is 0, use the next nonzero digit which is 2.
2 = fractional part

Name the fractional part as a whole number and use the place value for the last
digit of the decimal after.
2 = two
2 is the tenth's digit of 1.20.
Use tenths.

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 Combining the names;
1.20 = one and two tenths

Therefore, 1.20 is one and two tenths in words.

In reading the decimal, the digits after the point are always read separately. For example,
1.345 is read as one point three four five and not as one point three hundred and forty-five.
Observe the table given below.

Number Fraction Decimal Read as

Four tenths 0.4 zero point four

Six tenths 0.6 zero point six

One and five tenths 1 1.5 one point five

Seven hundredths 0.07 zero point zero seven

Sixty-seven thousandths 0.067 zero point zero six seven

Five and eighty-two hundredths 5.082 five point zero eight two

Exercises

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 A. Identify the following. Write your answer on the space provided.
1. What is the hundredths digit in the number 356.812?

2. For the decimal number 89.56 what is the digit in the tenths place?

3. For the decimal number 347.92 what is the digit in the tenths place?

4. For the decimal number 83.72 what is the digit in the hundredths place?

5. For the number 36.249, what is the place value of the digit 9?

6. What is the tenths digit in the number 43.765?

7. For the number 25.639, what is the place value of the digit 6?

8. For the number 2367.981, where do you find the largest digit?

9. For the number 489.632, where do you find the smallest digit?

10. For the decimal number 89.56 what is the digit in the hundredths place?

4.1.2 Rounding and Ordering Decimals

To put numbers in order, place them from lowest (first) to highest (last). This is called
"Ascending Order". Think of ascending a mountain.
For example:
a. Place 17, 5, 9 and 8 in ascending order
Answer: 5, 8, 9, 17

b. Place 3, 1, 19, 12, 9, 2 and 7 in ascending order.

Answer: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, 19

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Sometimes you want the numbers to go the other way, from highest down to lowest, this is
called "Descending Order".
For example:
a. Place 17, 5, 9 and 8 in descending order.
Answer: 17, 9, 8, 5

Ordering decimals can be tricky. Because often we look at 0.42 and 0.402 and say that
0.402 must be bigger because there are more digits. But no!
We can use this method to see which decimals are bigger:

 Set up a table with the decimal point in the same place for each number.
 Put in each number.
 Fill in the empty squares with zeros.
 Compare using the first column on the left
 If the digits are equal move to the next column to the right until one
number wins.

For example:
Put the following decimals in ASCENDING order: 1.506, 1.56, 0.8

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

1 . 5 0 6

1 . 5 6

0 . 8

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Fill in the empty squares with zeros:

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

1 . 5 0 6

1 . 5 6 0

0 . 8 0 0

Compare using the first column (Ones)

Two of them are "1"s and the other is a "0". Ascending order needs smallest first,
and so "0" is the winner:
Answer so far: 0.8

Now we can remove 0.8 from the list:

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

1 . 5 0 6

1 . 5 6 0

- . - - -

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Compare the Tenths
Now there are two numbers with the same "Tenths" value of 5, so move along to
the "Hundredths" for the tie-breaker
Compare the Hundredths
One of those has a 6 in the hundredths, and the other has a 0, so the 0 wins
(remember we are looking for the smallest each time). In other words 1.506 is less
than 1.56:
Answer so far: 0.8, 1.506

Remove 1.506 from the list:

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

- . - - -

1 . 5 6 0

- . - - -

Only one number left, it must be the largest:

Answer: 0.8, 1.506, 1.56

Put the following decimals in DESCENDING order: 0.402, 0.42, 0.375, 1.2, 0.85

In a table they look like this:

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 Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

0 . 4 0 2

0 . 4 2

0 . 3 7 5

1 . 2

0 . 8 5

And we want to go from highest to lowest (descending).

Fill in the empty squares with zeros:

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

0 . 4 0 2

0 . 4 2 0

0 . 3 7 5

1 . 2 0 0

0 . 8 5 0

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Compare using the first column (Ones):
There is a 1, all the rest are 0. Descending order needs largest first, so 1.2 must
be the highest. (Write it down in your answer and cross it off the table).
Answer so far: 1.2

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

0 . 4 0 2

0 . 4 2 0

0 . 3 7 5

- - - - -

0 . 8 5 0

Compare the Tenths.

The 8 is highest, so 0.85 is next in value.
Answer so far: 1.2, 0.85

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

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 0 . 4 0 2

0 . 4 2 0

0 . 3 7 5

- - - - -

- - - - -

Now there are two numbers with the same "Tenths" value of 4, so move along to
the "Hundredths" for the tie-breaker

One number has a 2 in the hundredths, and the other has a 0, so the 2 wins. So
0.42 is bigger than 0.402:
Answer so far: 1.2, 0.85, 0.42, 0.402

Decimal
Ones Tenths Hundredths Thousandths
Point

- - - - -

- - - - -

0 . 3 7 5

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 - - - - -

- - - - -

Only 0.375 left, so the answer is:

Answer: 1.2, 0.85, 0.42, 0.402, 0.375
Rounding means making a number simpler but keeping its value close to what it
was. In rounding numbers, decide which is the last digit to keep. Leave it the same
if the next digit is less than 5 (this is called rounding down). But increase it by 1 if
the next digit is 5 or more (this is called rounding up)
In Rounding Decimals, first work out which number will be left when we finish.
Rounding to tenths means to leave one number after the decimal point. Rounding
to hundredths means to leave two numbers after the decimal point.
For example:
a. 3.1416 rounded to hundredths is 3.14
as the next digit (1) is less than 5
b. 3.1416 rounded to thousandths is 3.142
as the next digit (6) is more than 5
c. 1.2735 rounded to tenths is 1.3
as the next digit (7) is 5 or more

To round to "so many decimal places" count that many digits from the decimal
point:

For example:
a. 1.2735 rounded to 3 decimal places is 1.274
as the next digit (5) is 5 or more
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 Rounding whole numbers with decimals. We may want to round to tens,
hundreds, etc, In this case we replace the removed digits with zero.

For example:
a. 134.9 rounded to tens is 130
as the next digit (4) is less than 5
b. 12,690 rounded to thousands is 13,000
as the next digit (6) is 5 or more
c. 15.239 rounded to ones is 15
as the next digit (2) is less than 5

Rounding to Significant Digits. To round to "so many" significant digits, count

digits from left to right, and then round off from there.

For example:
a. 1.239 rounded to 3 significant digits is 1.24
as the next digit (9) is 5 or more

b. 134.9 rounded to 1 significant digit is 100

as the next digit (3) is less than 5
c. 0.0165 rounded to 2 significant digits is 0.017
as the next digit (5) is 5 or more
Exercises
A. Identify following. Write your answer on the space provided
1. Which of the following decimal numbers is the greatest?
206, 2.060, 0260, 26
2. Which of the following decimal numbers is the least?
1.305, 1.35, 1.053, 1.53
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 3. Which of the following decimal numbers is the least?
20.08, 20.73, 23.7, 27.03
4. Order the following decimals, highest to lowest:
0.503, 0.53, 0.357, 1.57, 0.73
5. Order the following decimals, lowest to highest:
24.51, 12.415, 22.021, 4.215 and 19.4
6. Round 12.78 to the nearest tenth
7. Round 3.8439 to the nearest hundredth
8. Round 106.5 to the nearest whole number.
9. Round 78.546 to two decimal places
10. Round 3.995 to 2 significant digits

4.1.2 Decimal: Dots and Boxes

Dots & Boxes model has consisted of a row of boxes extending infinitely far
to the left. Working specifically with a 1←10 (base 10) rule and see what
boxes to the right could mean.

It has become convention to separate boxes to the right of the ones place
with a decimal point. If we denote its value as x, we have that ten x’s is
equivalent to 1.

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From 10x=1 we get that x= .

Call the value of the next box to the right y.

From 10y = we get y = .

If we keep doing this, we see that the boxes to the right of the decimal point
represent the reciprocals of the powers of ten.

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For example:
a. The decimal 0.007 is represented by the picture:

It represents seven groups of .

b. The decimal 0.31 is represented by the picture:

From the picture of the “Dots & Boxes” model we see:

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4.2 Operation on Decimals
4.2.1 Adding and Subtracting Decimals
Decimals are added and subtracted just like whole numbers. The decimal
points play a vital role in the alignment of the digits. The digits with similar
place value should be aligned. This is done by just aligning the decimal
points.
Steps for Adding or Subtracting Decimals
 Align the decimal points.
 If the decimal number has less digits on the right side of the
decimal point than the other numbers, put zero (0) at the end of the
last digit until the number would have the same number of digits at
the right side of the decimal point
 Add or subtract the numbers in columns.
 Insert the decimal point directly beneath the decimal points in the
numbers being added or subtracted.

For example:
a. Add 1.452+ 1.3

1.452
+ 1.3
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 “Pad” with zeros

1.452
+ 1.300
Add:

1.452
+ 1.300
2.752

b. Add 3.25, 0.075 and 5

3.25
0.075
+ 5.
“Pad” with zeros

3.25
0.075
+ 5.000
25
 Add:

3.25
0.075
+ 5.000
8.325
To subtract, follow the same method: line up the decimal points, pad with
zeros then subtract.
For example
a. What is 7.368 − 1.15 ?

7.368
- 1.15
“Pad” with zeros

7.368
- 1.1500

Subtract:

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 7.368
- 1.1500
6.218
b. What is 73.4 − 5.11 ?

73.4
- 5.11
“Pad” with zeros
73.40
- 5.11
Subtract:

31
73.40
- 5.11
68.29

Exercises
A. Perform the following operations
1. Add 20.15, 0.083 and 6.9
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 2. Add 3.032, 7.89 and 103.2
3. Add 902.03, 78.3054, 40.039 and 1.1326.
4. Add 72.13, 0.259, 839.702 and 91.4332
5. Add 0.9, 0.99, 0.909, 0.9009 and 0.90009
6. Subtract 7.35 from 11.004
7. Subtract 4.902 from 103.8
8. Subtract 0.3995 from 21.086
9. Subtract 9.09 from 90.9009
10. Subtract 110.01 from 1001.100

4.2.1 Multiplying Decimals

Multiplication of decimals is similar to multiplying the numbers without
considering the decimal points. The placement of the decimal point on the
product is very crucial in order to get the correct place value of the digits.
The standard algorithm for multiplying decimal numbers can be
described this way:
 Compute the product as if the two factors were whole numbers.
(Ignore the decimal points.)
 Count the number of digits to the right of the decimal point in
each factor and add those numbers together. Call the result n.
 The sum n that you found in Step 2 will be the number of digits
to the right of the decimal point in the product. So, place the
decimal point according by counting the appropriate number of
places from the right.

For example:
a. Multiply 3.14 x 2.5
Multiply the numbers without considering the decimal points.
28
 314
x 25
1570
628
7850

Add the decimal places in both factors.

3.14 −2 decimal places
2.5 −1 decimal places

The decimal point of the product should be 2 + 1 = 3 decimal

places from the left of the last digit.
Move the decimal point 3 places to the left starting from the right of
the last digit of the product which is 0.
7.850 or 7.85

Therefore, 3.14×2.5=7.85

b. Multiply 8.04 x 12.08

Multiply the numbers without considering the decimal points.

804
x 1208
16432
1608
804
971232
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 Add the decimal places in both factors.
8.04−2 decimal places
12.08−2 decimal places

The decimal point of the product should be 2 + 2 = 4 decimal

places from the left of the last digit.
Move the decimal point 4 places to the left starting from the right of
the last digit of the product which is 0.
97.1232

Therefore, 8.04×12.08=97.1232

4.2.1 Dividing Decimals

Dividing a decimal number by another decimal number, is similar to just
dividing the numbers without the decimal points. Here decimal point plays a
significant role for it by determining how small or large the quotient is. The
placement of the decimal point should be observed properly.
The standard algorithm for dividing numbers represented by finite
decimal expansions is something like this:
 Move the decimal point of the divisor to the end of the number.
 Move the decimal point of the dividend the same number of
positions (the same distance and direction).
 Divide the new decimal dividend (from Step 2) by the new whole
number divisor (from Step 1). Since we’re dividing by a whole
number, our standard methods make sense.
For example:
a. 15 divided by 0.2
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 Move the decimal point of the divisor to the right until the divisor
will be a whole number.
0.2 → 2
The decimal point moves 1 decimal place to the right..

Move the decimal point of the dividend to the right by the same
number of places that the decimal point of the divisor moves.
15 → 150

Divide the dividend by the divisor with the decimal point in a new
position.
75

2 150 150 ÷ 2 = 75
b. Divide 6.4 by 0.4
Move the decimal point of the divisor to the right until the
divisor will be a whole number.
0.4 → 4
The decimal point moves 1 decimal place to the right..

Move the decimal point of the dividend to the right by the same
number of places that the decimal point of the divisor moves.
6.4 → 64

Divide the dividend by the divisor with the decimal point in a new
position.
16

4 64 64 ÷ 4 = 16

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Exercises
A. Perform the following operations
1. Multiply 0.05 by 1.3
2. Multiply 0.215 by 4.4
3. Multiply 26 by 0.007
4. Multiply 3.25 by 0.22
5. Multiply 0.0125 by 80.8
6. Divide 0.0325 by 0.013
7. Divide 0.275 by 0.25
8. Divide 4.214 by 0.49
9. Divide 3.888 by 7.2
10. Divide 9.84 by 8

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