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Fraction Classroom · 2.2.0 · Student pages

Compare decimals when their lengths differ

Compare the first different place instead of treating the digits after the point as a whole number.

Anonymous group code: __________   Date: __________

The wholes match. A longer written decimal does not necessarily represent a larger number.0.80: 80 hundredths0.75: 75 hundredths
The wholes match. A longer written decimal does not necessarily represent a larger number.

Discuss the opening question

start. Which is greater, 0.8 or 0.75?

Work through the explanation

example. Which is greater, 0.8 or 0.75?

  1. Check that both decimals describe the same whole and the same measurement unit.
  2. Compare ones first, then tenths. Both numbers have zero ones; 0.8 has eight tenths, while 0.75 has seven tenths and five hundredths.
  3. Rename 0.8 as 0.80 if a common unit helps. Compare 80 hundredths and 75 hundredths.
  4. Record 0.8 > 0.75 and explain the first place that settled the comparison. If the tenths are equal, compare hundredths next.

Worked example: 0.8 is greater. Eight tenths is eighty hundredths, and eighty hundredths is greater than seventy-five hundredths.

Practise, then check independently

Use p1–p3 for practice. Try e1 without help. Show how your place-value units or model support the result.

p1. Compare 0.6 and 0.58. Enter <, = or >.

p2. Compare 0.32 and 0.39. Enter <, = or >.

p3. Compare 0.4 and 0.40. Enter <, = or >.

e1. Compare 0.09 and 0.1. Enter <, = or >.

Explain a new situation

transfer. Can you decide whether 0.9 or 0.86 is greater without rewriting either number?