A decimal is displayed by using a decimal point to separate a larger number from a smaller number.  Numbers to the right of the decimal are smaller than the number “1” while numbers to the left are equal to the number “1” or higher.  The decimal point goes between units and tenths.  For example, the number 54.7 would be displayed as: 54.7 has 5 tens, 4 units and 7 tenths OR 7 = 50 + 4 + 7/10 The most important is to understand about decimals is the value each digit has.  For example, in the number 2.467, the digit ‘4’ actually represents 4 tenths, and the ‘6’ is 6 hundredths.  When reading... Show more

A decimal is displayed by using a decimal point to separate a larger number from a smaller number.  Numbers to the right of the decimal are smaller than the number “1” while numbers to the left are equal to the number “1” or higher.  The decimal point goes between units and tenths.

 For example, the number 54.7 would be displayed as: 54.7 has 5 tens, 4 units and 7 tenths OR 7 = 50 + 4 + 7/10

The most important is to understand about decimals is the value each digit has.  For example, in the number 2.467, the digit ‘4’ actually represents 4 tenths, and the ‘6’ is 6 hundredths.  When reading a decimal number, each digit after the decimal point should be read individually. This will help you recognize the correct place value.

When performing addition and subtraction with decimals, line each number up in columns according to their place value. 

When rounding a number to a stated number of decimal places, you have to recognize when to round up, and when to leave the final digit alone.

Remember, decimals are just a different way of writing fractions that have a denominator in powers of 10.  All fractions can be written as a decimal, simply divide the numerator by the denominator. 

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