You need to take care when comparing two decimals to work out how to order them, and make cure you are reading them correctly.
Ordering decimals means putting them in order from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.
- Write down the numbers in a column and make sure the decimal points line up. Write down place value headings if it helps you.
- Compare the digits in each column, starting on the left.
Example. Compare 0.459 and 0.495 to see which is bigger:
- Both numbers have 0 units. So look in the tenths column.
- Both numbers have 4 tenths. So look in the hundredths column.
- 0.495 has 9 in the hundredths column whereas 0.459 only has 5 in the hundredths column. (There is no need in this example to compare the thousandths column.)
Example. Which number is bigger 3.402 or 3.42 ?
BE CAREFUL 3.42 > 3.402, since 3.42 = 3.420
