How to convert fractions to decimals

The conversion of a fraction to a decimal is an operation that can make any math student hesitate. But, as long as you have a solid understanding of the positional value of decimals and the reduction of the fraction, the process is simple. Converting from decimals to fractions, is able to learn the relationship between different formats for the expression of numbers. As with multiplication and division, repetition and practice will eventually make conversion easy.

one

The first step is to understand that the bar in a fraction means division or "divided by". For example, the 3/4 fraction actually means 3 divided by 4. You also have to remember that the top number in a fraction is called the numerator and the bottom number is called the denominator. In our 3/4 example, the numerator is 3 and the denominator is 4.

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To convert a fraction to a decimal number you divide the numerator between the denominator. In our example from the previous step, to change the fraction ¾ to decimal, we calculate 3 divided by 4. The result is 0.75. This is the decimal number that is equivalent to the fraction ¾.

3

Suppose you have the fraction 5 ¼. This type of number is a mixed number or mixed fraction, since it consists of a whole number and a fraction. In the number 5 ¼, 5 is the whole number and ¼ is the fraction. To change a mixed fraction to a decimal, first convert the fractional part to a decimal, and then add the whole part to it.

For our example of 5 ¼, since the fractional part is ¼ we convert it into a decimal by dividing 1 by 4. This gives you 0.25. Add the integer of 5 to this result and we have 5.25 which is the decimal number of 5 ¼. You can expand this information in the article about how to convert mixed fractions to decimals.

4

This is a different situation that can occur when converting a fraction to a decimal. You have the fraction 1/3. When we use our procedure of dividing 1 by 3 we get a decimal number that does not stop. If you use a calculator to make the division you will see 0.333333333 that appears as a result. If you do the division by hand, with pencil and paper, you will notice that you keep writing 3 in each step of the division. This is called a periodic number. The period can be expressed by writing an arc above the repeated figures or 0.333 ... Both annotations mean that the 3 repeats indefinitely.