Decimals

Reading decimals

As you saw on the last page, decimals look a lot like a regular numbers, with a few important differences. First, all decimals have a decimal point (.). The decimal point looks like a period. Any number to the left of the decimal point is a whole number. The numbers to the right are like a fraction—they're less than 1 whole but more than 0.

For example, let's take a look at this decimal.

9.6

9 is on the left of the decimal point, so we have 9 whole things. 6 is on the right, so we also have 6 parts of a whole.

We see written decimals all the time in real life. For example, you might know that the average body temperature is 98.6 degrees. Or you might tune in to a radio station like 97.5. But do you know how to read these decimals out loud?

Click through the slideshow to learn how to read decimals.

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  Let's try reading this decimal: 9.6.

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  First, we'll read the number to the left of the decimal point. That's nine.

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  Next, we'll read the decimal point. Usually, you'll just say "point".

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  Finally, we'll read any number to the right of the decimal point. That's six.

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  So, we'd read 9.6 like this: nine point six.

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  But you could also read it like this: nine and six-tenths.

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  When you read decimal numbers, each place to the right of the decimal point has a special name.

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  The place immediately to the right of the decimal point is the tenths place.

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  Here, the decimal means we have .6, or six-tenths, of a whole.

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  You might remember from Introduction to Fractions that six-tenths is just another way of saying 6/10.

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  So 9.6 means we have 9 whole things and 6/10, or six-tenths, of another thing.

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  Since we have nine and six-tenths, the word "and" replaces the decimal point.

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  Let's try another example. How would you read this decimal? 0.25.

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  We can read 0.25 as zero point two five...

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  We can read 0.25 as zero point two five...or leave out the zero and just say point two five.

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  But we could also read it like this: twenty five-hundredths.

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  Let's look at our decimal places again. 2 is in the tenths place, so we have two-tenths.

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  Next is the hundredths place. In this example, 5 is in the hundredths place, so we have five-hundredths.

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  When we read this number aloud, we'll say the 2 and 5 together as "twenty-five".

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  We'll also say the decimal place that is farthest to the right. In our example, that's the hundredths place.

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  So we'll read 0.25 as twenty five-hundredths.

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  This is just another way of writing 25/100.

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  To figure out how many hundredths we had total, we could have added these numbers: two-tenths and five-hundredths.

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  2 tenths is the same as 0.20, or twenty-hundredths.

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  0.20 plus 0.05 equals 0.25, or twenty five-hundredths.

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Now it's your turn! Try reading the decimals below aloud.