Decimals to Thousandths (Place Value)
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What you will learn
- 1Identify the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths places in a decimal number
- 2Read decimal numbers to thousandths in standard, word, and expanded form
- 3Determine the value of a digit located after the decimal point
- 4Translate between word form and standard form for decimals to thousandths
Mini Lesson
Decimals let us write numbers smaller than 1 using place values to the right of the decimal point. The first three places after the point are tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. Each place is one tenth the size of the place before it.
The Decimal Place-Value Chart
- The decimal point separates the whole-number part from the fractional part.
- To the left of the point: ones, tens, hundreds, and so on (each place is 10 times the place to its right).
- To the right of the point: tenths (0.1), hundredths (0.01), thousandths (0.001).
- In 2.475 the 2 is ones, the 4 is tenths, the 7 is hundredths, and the 5 is thousandths.
Standard Form
- Write the digits in order with a decimal point separating ones from tenths.
- Use a leading zero when there are no ones: write 0.367 (not .367) for clarity.
- Trailing zeros after the last non-zero digit do not change the value: 0.5 = 0.50 = 0.500.
Word Form
- Read the whole-number part normally, then say "and" for the decimal point.
- Read the digits after the point as a whole number, then name the smallest place value used.
- 0.367 reads as "three hundred sixty-seven thousandths".
- 2.475 reads as "two and four hundred seventy-five thousandths".
Expanded Form
- Break the number into the value of each non-zero digit and add them.
- 2.475 becomes 2 + 0.4 + 0.07 + 0.005.
- 0.306 becomes 0.3 + 0.006 — skip any place whose digit is zero.
Words to know
decimal
A number that uses a decimal point to show parts of a whole, like 0.367 or 2.475.
tenths
The first place to the right of the decimal point. Each tenth equals 0.1, or one out of ten equal parts.
hundredths
The second place to the right of the decimal point. Each hundredth equals 0.01, or one out of one hundred equal parts.
thousandths
The third place to the right of the decimal point. Each thousandth equals 0.001, or one out of one thousand equal parts.
place value
The value a digit has because of its position in a number — to the right of the decimal, each place is one tenth of the place before it.
Tip: line up decimals by their decimal points. The first place after the point is always tenths, the next is hundredths, and the third is thousandths.
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