Introduction to Decimals - 1

1 For fractions with a power of 10 as the denominator,

1. The number of zeros in the denominator = number of decimal places, i.e., the number of digits after the decimal point.

2. The last digit (or digits) on the right of the decimal directly comes (come) from the numerator.

• Examples:

2
o Consider the fraction
1000
2
▪ As a decimal, = 0.002.
1000

25
o Consider the fraction
1000

25
▪ As a decimal, = 0.025
1000

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Introduction to Decimals - 2

2 To convert a decimal to a fraction, remove the decimal point and in the denominator, put 1 followed by zeros (number of zeros
= number of decimal places in the original decimal)

• Examples:

5
o 0.5 =
10
4
o 0.4 =
10
6
o 0.6 =
10

25
o 0.25 =
100

3 The places before the decimal point, from right to left, are ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on.

• Example: Consider 431.235

Then, 1 is in the ones place; 3 is in the tens place; 4 is in the hundreds place.

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Introduction to Decimals - 3

4 The places after the decimal point, from left to right, are tenths, hundredths, thousandths, and so on.

• Example: Consider 431.235

Then, 2 is in the tenths place; 3 is in the hundredths place; 5 is in the thousandths place.

5 Adding zeros on the left side of an integer does not change the value of the integer. However, adding zeros on the right side of
an integer changes the value of the integer.

• Examples:
o 1 = 01 = 001 = 0001, and so on.
o 1 ≠ 10 ≠ 100 ≠ 1000, and so on.

6 Adding zeros on the extreme right of a decimal does not change the value of the decimal. Similarly, adding zeros on the extreme left of
a decimal (before the decimal point) does not change the value of the decimal. However, adding zeros just after the decimal point
changes the value of the decimal.

• Examples:
o 0.1 = 0.10 = 0.100 = 0.1000, and so on.
o 0.1 = 00.1 = 00.1 = 000.1, and so on
o 0.1 ≠ 0.01 ≠ 0.001 ≠ 0.0001, and so on.
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Introduction to Decimals - 4

7 All decimals can be divided into two types: Terminating and Non-terminating.

• Terminating decimals have a finite number of digits after the decimal point.
o Examples: 0.8, 0.05
• Non-terminating decimals have an infinite number of digits after the decimal point.
3
o Examples: 0.428571428571...., which is the decimal representation of the fraction
7

8 Non-terminating decimals can be divided into two types: Recurring and Non-recurring.

• Recurring decimals have a fixed block of repeating digits.

o Example: 0.3333...., 0.040404....
o They can be represented by placing a bar on top of the repeating block.
▪ Example: 0.33333... = 0.3, 0.0404040.... = 0.04
• Non-recurring decimals do not have a fixed block of repeating digits.
o Example: 0.010010001....

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Introduction to Decimals - 5

9 Memorize fraction representation of these commonly used recurring decimals.

1
0.3333.. =
3

2
0.666…~ 0.67 =
3

1
0.16666…~0.167 =
6

1
0.1111…~0.11 =
9

2
0.2222…~0.22 =
9

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