Decimal & Percent Notation
Read, write, and use decimal and percentage notation correctly — decimal, decimal point, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, percentage, per cent, % symbol, convert, terminating decimal — and understand the relationships between fractions, decimals, and percentages as three ways of expressing the same value
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read and write decimal numbers correctly, identifying the value of each digit (ones, tenths, hundredths)
- Use the % symbol correctly and explain that per cent means 'out of 100'
- Convert between simple fractions, decimals, and percentages (e.g. 1/2 = 0.5 = 50%) and explain why they are equal
The lesson
A decimal number uses a dot called the decimal point. The digits after the point show parts of a whole. The first digit after the point is the tenths place. The second digit is the hundredths place.
Percent means 'out of 100'. The % symbol is a quick way to write a number out of 100. So 50% means 50 out of 100.
Mia has a ribbon and colors half of it. Half is the fraction 1/2. As a decimal, that's 0.5. As a percent, that's 50%, because 50 out of 100 is the same amount as half.
To turn a decimal into a percent, move the decimal point two places to the right and add the % sign. So 0.5 becomes 50%.
Fractions, decimals, and percentages are three different ways to write the exact same amount.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.