8 Decimal number
Xiangkai Zeng
- Official Definition: a number that consists of a whole and a fractional part.
- Children-Friendly language: A decimal number is designed to represent a size/amount that is larger than a whole number but smaller than the next whole number. Let’s use the apple example again, you might notice that you can have more than 2 apples but not enough to make it 3, because the last apple is only a portion of a whole apple. So, the way to say it, for example, is that you have 2.5 apples. The number “2” on the left side of the dot (the decimal point) represents the whole number of apples you have. The number “5” on the right side of the dot represents the size of the portion, here it means half of the apple.
- Pictorial example
- You have 2 whole apples and 1 quarter of an apple, so you have 2.25 apples. The number “2.25” is a decimal number.
- You have 2 whole apples and 1 half of an apple, so you have 2.5 apples. The number “2.5” is a decimal number.
- Practice time – Click the link below to play the game.
- https://toytheater.com/place-value-move/
- Let’s play the place-value game again. You can also create a decimal number by putting something into the box after the decimal point. If your number has something after the decimal point, it will be a decimal number, not a whole number.
The number 12.56 is decimal.
- References:
- Writer2, W. P. (2022, March 31). Place value move ” toy theater: Learn • create • play. Toy Theater | Learn • Create • Play. https://toytheater.com/place-value-move/
- Whole numbers & integers (article). (n.d.). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-expressions-and-variables/whole-numbers-integers/a/whole-numbers-integers
