Review of Introductory Mathematics
DECIMALS
Example:
Convert
to a decimal.
3
4
Solution:
The fraction
represents 3 divided by 4. To put this into decimal form, we first divide
3
4
3 by 4. Add a decimal point and zeros to carry out this division.
Example:
Convert
to a decimal.
1
3
Solution:
In the above example we see that no matter how many zeros we add, there will always be a
remainder of 1. This is called a repeating decimal. A repeating decimal is indicated by a dash
over the last number to the right of the decimal point. So,
. The bar is placed over
1
3
0.333
the repeating portion. For a repeating single digit, the bar is placed over only a single digit. For
a repeating sequence of digits, the bar is placed over the whole sequence of digits.
Rev. 0
Page 39
MA-01
