how do i turn FRACTIONS into DECIMALS

What is a "decimal"?

A "decimal" is a fraction whose denominator we do not write but which we understand to be a power of 10.
The number of decimal digits to the right of the decimal point, indicates the number of zeros in the denominator.



Example 1.

.8 = 8
10 One decimal digit; one 0 in the denominator.
.08 = 8
100 Two decimal digits; two 0's in the denominator.
.008 = 8
1000 Three decimal digits; three 0's in the denominator.
And so on.

The number of decimal digits indicates the power of 10.


Example 2. Write as a decimal: 614
100,000
Answer. 614
100,000 = .00614

Five 0's in the denominator indicate five digits after the decimal point.

The five 0's in the denominator is not the number of 0's in the decimal

Alternatively, in Lesson 10 we introduced the division bar, and in Lesson 3 we saw how to divide a whole number by a power of 10.

614
100,000 = 614 ÷ 100,000 = .00614

Starting at the right of 614, separate five decimal digits.

Example 3. Write this mixed number as a decimal: 6 49
100
Answer. 6 49
100 = 6.49

The whole number 6 does not change. We simply replace the

common fraction 49
100 with the decimal .49.

Example 4. Write this mixed number with a common fraction: 9.0012
Answer. 9.0012 = 9 12
10,000

Again, the whole number does not change. We replace the decimal

.0012 with the common fraction 12
10,000 . The decimal .0012 has four

decimal digits. The denominator 10,000 is a 1 followed by four 0's.

This accounts for fractions whose denominator is already a power of 10.


2. If the denominator is not a power of 10, how can we change the fraction to a decimal?

Make the denominator a power of 10 by multiplying it or dividing it.



Example 5. Write 9
25 as a decimal.

Solution. 25 is not a power of 10, but we can easily make it a power of 10 -- we can make it 100 -- by multiplying it by 4. We must also, then, multiply the numerator by 4.

Example 6. Write 4
5 as a decimal.
Solution. 4
5 = 8
10 = .8

We can make 5 into 10 by multiplying it -- and 4 -- by 2.


Example 7. Write as a decimal: 7
200
Answer. 7
200 = 35
1000 = .035

We can make 200 into 1000 by multiplying it -- and 7 -- by 5.

Alternatively,

7
200 = 3.5
100 , on dividing both terms by 2,

= .035, on dividing 3.5 by 100.

Example 8. Write as a decimal: 8
200
Answer. 8
200 = 4
100 = .04

Here, we can change 200 into a power of 10 by dividing it by 2. We can do this because 8 also is divisible by 2.

Or, again,

8
200 = _ 8 _
2 × 100 = 4
100 = .04
Example 9. Write as a decimal: 12
400
Answer. 12
400 = 3
100 = .03

We can change 400 to 100 by dividing it -- and 12 -- by 4.

To summarize: We go from a larger denominator to a smaller by dividing (Examples 8 and 9); from a smaller denominator to a larger by multiplying (Example 5).

Example 10.

a) We know that 5% is 5 out of 100 (Lesson 3). .5%, then, is 5 out of how many?

Answer. We can change .5% into the decimal .005 (Lesson 3), which in

turn is equal to the fraction 5
1000 .
.5% = 5
1000 .

Therefore, .5% is 5 out of 1000.

b) .05% is 5 out of how many?

Answer. .05% = .0005 = 5
10,000 . Therefore, .05% is 5 out of 10,000.

Compare Lesson 17, Example 7.



Frequent decimals

The following fractions come up frequently. The student should know their decimal equivalents.

1
2 1
4 3
4 1
8 3
8 5
8 7
8 1
3 2
3

Let us begin with 1
2 .

1
2 = 5
10 = .5 or .50.

Next, 1
4 . But 1
4 is half of 1
2 .



Therefore, its decimal will be half of .50 --

1
4 = .25
And since 3
4 = 3 × 1
4 , then
3
4 = 3 × .25 = .75

Next, 1
8 . But 1
8 is half of 1
4 .



Therefore, its decimal will be half of .25 or .250 --

1
8 = .125

The decimals for the rest of the eighths will be multiples of .125.

Since 3 × 125 = 375,

3
8 = 3 × .125 = .375

Similarly, 5
8 will be 5 × 1
8 = 5 × .125.

5 × 125 = 5 × 100 + 5 × 25 = 500 + 125 = 625.

(Lesson 8) Therefore,

5
8 = .625

Finally, 7
8 = 7 × .125.

7 × 125 = 7 × 100 + 7 × 25 = 700 + 175 = 875.

Therefore,

7
8 = .875

These decimals come up frequently. The student should know how to generate them quickly.

The student should also know the decimals for the fifths:

1
5 = 2
10 = .2

The rest will be the multiples of .2 --

2
5 = 2 × 1
5 = 2 × .2 = .4

3
5 = 3 × .2 = .6

4
5 = 4 × .2 = .8
Example 11. Write as a decimal: 8 3
4
Answer. 8 3
4 = 8.75

The whole number does not change. Simply replace the common

fraction 3
4 with the decimal .75.

Example 12. Write as a decimal: 7
2

Answer. First change an improper fraction to a mixed number:

7
2 = 3 1
2 = 3.5

"2 goes into 7 three (3) times (6) with 1 left over."

Then repalce 1
2 with .5.

Example 13. How many times is .25 contained in 3?

Answer. .25 = 1
4 . And 1
4 is contained in 1 four times. (Lesson 19.)
Therefore, 1
4 , or .25, will be contained in 3 three times as many times. It will

be contained 3 × 4 = 12 times.



Example 14. How many times is .125 contained in 5?

Answer. .125 = 1
8 . And 1
8 is contained in 1 eight times. Therefore, 1
8 ,

or .125, will be contained in 5 five times as many times. It will be contained 5 × 8 = 40 times.

As for 1
3 and 2
3 , neither one be expressed exactly as a decimal.

However,

1
3 .333

and

2
3 .667

See Section 2, Question 3.



Frequent percents

From the decimal equivalent of a fraction, we can easily derive the percent: Move the decimal point two digits right. (Lesson 3.) Again, the student should know these. They come up frequently.

1
2 = .50 = 50%

1
4 = .25 = 25%

3
4 = .75 = 75%

1
8 = .125 = 12.5% (Half of 1
4 .)

3
8 = .375 = 37.5%

5
8 = .625 = 62.5%

7
8 = .875 = 87.5%

1
5 = .2 = 20%

2
5 = .4 = 40%

3
5 = .6 = 60%

4
5 = .8 = 80%

In addition, the student should know

1
3 = 33 1
3 %

2
3 = 66 2
3 %