1.3.1

Decimals

Test yourself

Place Value

When a number is written out in digits each number stands for a different value depending on what position it takes in the number. For example in the number 7,342,176.525:

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Hundreds

  • The number 1 stands for 100 since it is in the hundreds place.
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Hundreds of thousands

  • The number 3 stands for 300,000 since it is in the hundreds of thousands place.

Adding Decimals

You should be able to add decimals without a calculator.

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Step 1

  • Move the decimal point two digits to the right (multiply by 100).
  • This gets rid of the decimals and lets us work with whole numbers.
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Step 2

  • Add the whole numbers together.
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Step 3

  • Re-introduce the decimals.
  • Move the decimal point two digits to the left (divide by 100).

Subtracting Decimals

You should be able to subtract decimals without a calculator.

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Step 1

  • Move the decimal point one digit to the right (multiply by 10).
  • This gets rid of the decimals and lets us work with whole numbers.
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Step 2

  • Calculate the difference between the whole numbers.
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Step 3

  • Re-introduce the decimals.
  • Move the decimal point one digit to the left (divide by 10).

Jump to other topics

1Numbers

2Equations, Formulae & Identities

3Sequences, Functions & Graphs

4Geometry

5Vectors & Transformation Geometry

6Statistics & Probability

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