Decimals

Decimals are the part of the number which come after the decimal point. This part of a number shows a part of a whole or 1. You must be comfortable using them as they are used all the time.

• Examples:
  
  0.1 is the same as ¹/₁₀
  0.01 is the same as ¹/₁₀₀
  0.001 is the same as ¹/₁₀₀₀
  
  0.243 is the same as ²³⁴/₁₀₀₀
  0.002 is the same as ²/₁₀₀₀
  2.0 is the same as ²/₁
  
  
• Terminating Decimals
  These are decimals which end straight away (1.5, 0.1234, 1.2345).
  
  
• Non-Terminating Decimals
  These are numbers which have decimals which do not stop. These include numbers such as PI or recurring decimals like a third.
  
  
• Decimal Places
  Decimals may not be very short. Many answers may give a long string of decimal places which don't seem to end. Questions in an exam you may asked you to give answers to a specific degree of accuracy.
  
  For example:
  If x = 12.3456789
  x to 4 significant figures is 12.34
  x to 4 decimal places is 12.3456

About the Author

Revision Notes by Richard Tang