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Representation of decimal numbers

Learning objectives

  • To represent decimal numbers up to thousandths.
  • To understand the concept of carrying over.
  • To understand the meanings of the prefixes DECI, CENTI, MILLI.
  • To estimate small numbers and find an approximate value.

A decimal number is composed of two parts separated by a comma: the integer part is the number to the left of the comma and the fractional (or decimal) part is the number to the right of the comma.

The number 1.24 can be broken down as follows:

1.24 = 1 + 0.24

1 is the integer part and 0.24 is the decimal part (or fractional part, as it can be written as 24/100 - "twenty-four hundredths").

The decimal part is always less than 1 because it is a fraction of the unit.

This animation allows you to visualize the value of a digit based on its position in the number because the scales are respected.

1.24 can be approximated to the tenths place as 1.2.

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