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Decimals – Decimal to Fraction TutorGiant Another way to look at decimals is to see them as fractions. Students must have a good understanding of both decimals and fractions in order to interchange the two. Let’s start off with the decimal 0.3 and change it to a fraction. We can refer back to decimals and place value to remember that we read the decimal 0.3 as ‘three tenths’. We write three tenths as 3/10. The same would go for 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and so on. We have just changed decimal tenths to fractions. We can also do the same for decimal hundredths. For example, the decimal 0.45 is read as forty-five hundredths, or 45/100. The same would apply for 0.71, 0.55, and so on. We have just changed decimal hundredths to fractions. The same strategy would work for changing decimal thousandths to fractions. Now, if we had a decimal with a whole number such as 4.26 and we wanted to make it a fraction, we would have to think back to the fraction concept of mixed numbers. The 4 in 4.26 is telling us that we have the whole number 4 and 26 hundredths. We already know how to write 26 hundredths, but what about the 4? Let’s think back to the fraction concept of mixed numbers. We would write the decimal 4.26 as 4 26/100. We would read this fraction as four and twenty-six hundredths. If you have a decimal such as 7.25, you might recognize the .25 as being 25 hundredths which is the same as one quarter. So, 7.25 as a fraction would be 7¼. It is important to remember to read the decimal number before changing it into a fraction. When you read the number, you will automatically ‘say’ the fraction. For example, 6.28 is read as ‘six and twenty-eight hundredths’. We would write this down as we would say it: six (6) and twenty-eight hundredths (28/100). Make sure your child has a good understanding of decimal place value (e.g. tenths, hundredths, etc) before attempting to change decimals to fractions.
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