Read & Write Decimals
Decimals practice
Write a decimal from its number name, or choose its number name or expanded form.
Decimals practice
Write a decimal from its number name, or choose its number name or expanded form.
Write a decimal from its name, or choose a decimal's name or expanded form.
Questions use tenths, hundredths and thousandths, including decimals with zeros between digits.
Typical level: Grade 5In the U.S. Common Core, Grade 4 introduces tenths and hundredths, and Grade 5 extends reading and writing decimals to thousandths. Curriculum timing varies.
Example: 6.042
| Ones | Decimal point | Tenths | Hundredths | Thousandths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| One one is worth 1 | One tenth is worth 0.1 | One hundredth is worth 0.01 | One thousandth is worth 0.001 |
To read it, say the whole part, say "and" for the decimal point, then read the digits after the point as one number: 042 is forty-two. The last digit, 2, is in the thousandths place, so the whole fraction is named in thousandths.
six and forty-two thousandths
The zero holds the tenths place. Without it, 6.42 is six and forty-two hundredths.
With no whole part there is no "and": 0.042 is forty-two thousandths.
The word "hundred" can appear in a count. 2.305 is two and three hundred five thousandths, where the "hundred" belongs to 305 and the place is still thousandths.
Run the same steps backward. The last word says how many places follow the decimal point: thousandths means three. "Forty-two" fills only two of them, so the extra place goes in front as a zero.
six and forty-two thousandths = 6.042
Not sure of the places? Decimal Place Value practices tenths, hundredths and thousandths on their own.
Expanded form writes a decimal as the sum of what each digit is worth. In 6.042 that is 6 ones, 4 hundredths and 2 thousandths.
6.042 = 6 + 0.04 + 0.002
The zero in the tenths place adds nothing, so it gets no term. To check a term, count its decimal places: the 4 is in the hundredths place, so its term is 0.04, with two decimal places.