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Can you convert this mixed number into a decimal?
Some math problem will give you both fractions and decimals to work with, and you’ll need
to know how to make them all the same type of number.
Being familiar with the place value system makes it easy to convert certain fractions
into decimals. This is because decimals are named in such a way that they can be represented
by both a decimal and a fraction.
For example, “nine tenths” can be written in two ways.
seventy-three hundredths can be written as...
The important thing to remember is that a decimal has to end at the place value in its
name. For example, while “seventy-three hundredths” may look like this, “seventy-three
thousandths” doesn’t. Because it’s “thousandths”, the three at the end of the number has to
be in the thousandths place value.
Not all fractions have a multiple of ten in the denominator.
But it’s okay, because hopefully you’ve learned what that line in a fraction is. You
haven’t? Oh. Well, it’s called the vinculum, and represents division.
So, 3/4 is really saying “three divided by four”. We can now set up the long division
problem and figure out a decimal equivalent. Just make sure you put the numbers in the
right place. The numerator is always the number inside the long division symbol.
Some fractions have a whole number attached to them and, oddly enough, so do some decimals.
The rules for converting a mixed number to a decimal are the same as they are for working
with fractions, except that you’ll need to add a decimal point and a zero or two so
you can complete the division.
At the end of the problem, though, remember to put that whole number to the left of the
decimal.
Now, let’s turn that 10 and 2/5 into a decimal.
Ignore the ten for a moment and deal with the 2/5. Remember that’s two divided by
five. When we do the division, we find that’s (four tenths). Now add that to the 10.
The answer is ten and four tenths.
When in doubt, just divide the numerator by the denominator.