Decimals

Decimal Number System

The decimal numeral system has the number 10 as its base. In the decimal system,
each digit position in a number has a value ten times that of the position to its
right. The whole numbers that we are falimiar with are decimal numerals. For
example, in the number 11, the 1 on the left is said to be in the tens place, and
its value is 10 times as great as that of the 1 on the right. the 1 on the right is said
to be in the ones place. Thus the number 11 can be seen as one tens unit plus
one ones unit. As we know, ten plus one = 10+1=11.

1999
ones
tens
hundreds
thousands

The figure above shows the names of several digit positions in the decimal system.
If we apply this nomenclature to the digits of the number 235, this number can
also be described as two hundreds plus three tens plus five ones. This number can
also be expressed mathematically as follows:
235  2  100  3  10  5  1  200  30  5
Similarly, the number 4,372 has a meaning which is four thousands plus three
hundreds plus seven tens plus two ones. Also note the comma, which separates a
number into groups of three digits.
4 ,372  4  1 ,000  3  100  7  10  2  1  4 ,000  300  70  2

1
Decimal Fractions
A decimal fraction is a fraction whose denominator is 10 or some multiple of 10,
7 12 215
such as 100, 1,000, or 10,000. Thus , , or are decimal fractions.
10 100 10000
Decimal fractions are commonly expressed without a denominator , the decimal
separator being inserted into the numerator , at a position left of the trailing digit
in the numerator corresponding to the number of zeros in the denominator . The
decimal fractions above can be expressed as 0.7, 0.12, and 0.0215 respectively.

Examples:
63
Write decimal fraction in its decimal form.
1000
1. Write the numerator and place the decimal point after the trailing digit.
63.
2. Determine the number of zeros in the denominator.
1,000 has 3 zeros
3. Move the decimal place to the left by the exact number of places determined
by the zeros counted previously.
0.063 (move decimal 3 places to the left)

Decimal Notation
A number is represented in decimal notation when the whole number is combined
with the decimal fraction. The decimal point indicates the start of the decimal
fraction to the right of the decimal. An example of a decimal number with place
values can be seen in the figure below. Decimal notation is advantageous to mixed
numbers because it is easier to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals.

2
Decimal Notation (cont.)

Convert a mixed number to decimal notation:

1. Perform long division on the fractional portion.
.875
7
3  8 7  8 7.000
8
6.4
0.60
056
.
0.040
0.040
R0
2. Add the decimal fraction to the whole number.
7 7
3  3   3  0.875  3.875
8 8

You should commit the following decimal - fraction equivalents to memory:

1 1
 0.2  0.25
5 4

1 1
 033333
. ......  05
.
3 2

2 3
 0.66666......  075
.
3 4

3
Decimal Arithmetic
Adding and Subtracting Decimals:
When adding and subtracting decimal numbers, make sure to line up the decimal
points of each term before performing the operation. Then just add/subtract as
you would with whole numbers.

Examples:
6.2 345.0
6.2  375
.  + 3.75 345  57.8  - 57.8
9.95 287.2

2.18
34.35
.  3435
218 .  014
.  4.90  0.14
+ 4.90
41.57
Multiplying Decimals:
When multiplying two decimal numbers, perform the mutliplication as you would
for whole numbers. Lastly, the location of the decimal point from the right is
determined by adding the number of decimal places found in the multiplier and
multiplicand. Multiplication by a power of 10 (10, 100, 1,000, etc.) can be done
by simply moving the decimal point to the right as many places as there are zeros
in the multiplier.

Examples:
4.56
.  7.2   7.2
456 0.006705  1 ,000  6.705
912
3192
32.832
4
Decimal Arithmetic (cont.)
Dividing Decimals:
When dividing decimal numbers and the divisor is a whole number, perform
long division as you would for whole numbers. If the divisor is a decimal, move
the decimal point of both the divisor and the dividend to the right as many
places as it takes to convert the divisor to a whole number.

Examples:
078875
. 91
.
.  8  8 631000
631 . .  0.9  0.9 819
819 .  9 81.9
56 81
71 09
64 9
70
64
60
56
40
40

5
Rounding Decimals
When rounding a decimal fraction to the nearest place, look at the digit to the
immediate right. If the digit in the decimal place to be eliminated is 5 or greater,
round the next decimal place to the left by 1. If the digit to be eliminated is less
than 5, leave the retained digits unchanged. If the digit to be rounded increases
to 10, then drop the digit and increase the digit to the immediate left by 1. If the
decimal fraction has trailing zeros, then you can simply drop the zeros, as they
add no additional precision.

Examples:
1. 01414
. rounded to the nearest thousandth is 0141
.
2. 3147
. rounded to the nearest tenth is 31
.
3. 3.999 rounded to the nearest hundreth is 4
4. 63000
. can be reduced to lower terms as 63
.

6
Real World Examples
At the grocery store, Jordan sees that oranges can be purchased at 50¢ apiece
or 5 for $2.00. Which purchase results in the lower unit value?

0.40
Unit value if 5 oranges bought = 5 2.00  40¢
20
Since 40¢ is less than 50¢, buying 5 oranges results in a lower unit value.

Sheila purchases 4 rolls of fabric with lengths of 4.125, 2.658, 8.667, and 3.105
yards respectively. The cost of all fabric is $1.25 per yard, measured to the
nearest tenth of a yard. How much does Sheila pay for all of the fabric purchased?

To solve this problem, round each fabric length to the nearest tenth of a yard, then
sum the lengths and multiply by the cost per yard to determine the total cost.

4.125, 2.658, 8.667, and 3.105 is rounded to 4.1, 2.7, 8.7, and 3.1 yards.
4.1
2.7
Sum the rounded lengths: 8.7
+ 3.1
18.6

18.6
Multiply by the cost per yard: 18.6  $1.25   1.25
930
372
186
$23.250
Drop the trailing zero: $23.250= $23.25