Decimals – How Do You Compare Decimals?

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     They key to comparing decimals is to:

·         Be familiar with decimal place value (i.e. tenths, hundredths, etc)

·         Start off by looking at the digits in the tenths column first

     For example, let’s compare 0.3 and 0.2.  We will start by looking at the digits in the tenths columns.  We can clearly see that there is a 3 in the tenths column in the first decimal number and a 2 in the tenths column in the second decimal number.  Obviously, the first decimal number is greater than the second.

     Let’s compare the decimals 0.369 and 0.396.

    We will first line up the decimal numbers as if we were going to add or subtract decimals.

0.369

0.396

     When we line up the numbers, we first look at the tenths column.  We can see that they are both ‘3’.  Now we’ll move to the next column, the hundredths.  In the first number, we can see that the number ‘6’ is in the hundredths column and in the second number, a ‘9’ is in the hundredths column.  Clearly, the second number 0.396 is greater than the first number 0.369.

     Ultimately, if the digits in the tenths column are the same, we should take a look at the digits in the hundredths column.  If the digits in the hundredths column are the same, we should take a look at the digits in the thousandths column, and so on.

     It is important for students to have a good understanding of decimal place value in order to compare decimals.  Students should also remember to line up the decimal numbers, thus lining up similar place value digits, in order to ‘see’ which number is greater.

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