In this explainer, we will learn how to convert a fraction into a decimal, noting that the decimal expansion of a rational number either terminates or eventually repeats.
A fraction, in everyday language, often means a tiny part. In math, a fraction compares a part to a whole and describes what we call a proportion. The denominator of the fraction is the number of equal shares (or portions) the whole is split into, while the numerator is the number of these shares that make the part we are considering.
But a fraction can also be understood as a quotient: it is simply dividing one quantity by another. Any rational number can be expressed in this way, and in this case a “fraction” is actually a number.
Let us take as an example.
Fraction: If is a fraction, it means that we are comparing a part made of 3 equal shares to the whole made of 4 such equal shares.
If we consider the whole to be the unit (1), then the part is 0.75.
Number: If is a number obtained by dividing 3 by 4, then it is 0.75.
We see that the rational number (3 divided by 4) is the same as (three-quarters) of 1. They can both be expressed as a decimal, 0.75.
We are going to learn with some examples how to express a fraction as a decimal. As we have just seen, a general method is to divide the numerator by the denominator. For this, we may have to use long division.
Let us look at a couple of examples and recall what happens when the division ends.
Example 1: Converting a Fraction to a Decimal
Write as a decimal.
Answer
Here, we notice that the denominator of the fraction, 25, is a divisor of 100. Therefore, it is easy to rewrite this fraction with 100 as the denominator, namely, by multiplying both the numerator and the denominator by 4.
We find that
Now, it is easy to divide 52 by 100; we find that it is 0.52.
We can also carry out a long division to find the result of 13 divided by 25. We would then find that the division ends with a remainder of 0. The result of the division is of course 0.52.
Example 2: Converting a Unitary Fraction to a Decimal
Convert to a decimal.
Answer
To convert to a decimal, we need to divide 1 by 7. For this, we carry out a long division.
In the next example, we are asked to round a fraction to the nearest tenth.
Example 3: Converting a Fraction to a Decimal Rounded to the Nearest Tenth
to the nearest .
Answer
We are asked here to write as a decimal rounded to the nearest . Let us divide 2 by 3.
First Step: We find there is 0 times 3 in 2, with a remainder of .
Second Step: We find there is 6 times 3 in , with a remainder of .
The remainder, 2, is repeated, so the loop “there is 6 times 3 in , with a remainder of ” will be repeated forever. Hence, . To round this to the nearest tenth, we need to look at the digit in the second decimal place: 6. It is greater than 5; therefore, we need to round up. The answer is, therefore, .
We are going to look at two word problems where we need to convert a fraction to a decimal in order to compare two numbers.
Example 4: Converting Fractions to Decimals in a Real-World Context
Fady was told he could have or 0.34 of the total jam inside a jar. Convert to a decimal, and determine which option would give Fady more jam.
Answer
As said in the question, we need first to convert to a decimal. Let us divide 1 by 3.
First Step: We find there is 0 times 3 in 1, with a remainder of .
Second Step: We find there is 3 times 3 in , with a remainder of .
The remainder, 1, is repeated, so the loop “there is 3 times 3 in 10, with a remainder of 2” will be repeated forever. Hence, .
Now, we want to compare with 0.34. Since 4 is greater than 3, 0.34 is greater than . Hence, Fady will have more with 0.34 of the total jam.
Example 5: Identifying Two Decimals That Lie between Two Fractions
When two students were asked to find two decimals that lie between and the first student picked 0.935 and 1.03, whereas the second student picked 0.44 and 1.28. Which of the two is correct?
Answer
We are given two fractions, and , and we need to check whether the decimals 0.935, 1.03, 0.44, and 1.28 lie between them or not.
To do this, we are going to convert the fractions to decimals. Let us start with . We could carry out the long division of 37 by 40. However, given that the denominator is a multiple of 40, there is an easier way by first dividing both the dividend and the divisor by 4:
Similarly, we can first divide both the dividend and the divisor by 2 in to convert it more easily to a decimal:
We can now check whether the numbers given lie between 0.925 and 1.465 or not.
We find that
The number 0.44 does not lie between 0.925 and 1.465. Hence, the first student is correct.
Key Points
- A fraction can be understood as a quotient; it is simply dividing one quantity by another. Any rational number can be expressed in this way, and in this case, a “fraction” is actually a number. If is a number obtained by dividing 3 by 4, then it is 0.75.
- We see that the rational number (3 divided by 4) is the same as (three quarters) of 1. They both can be expressed as a decimal, 0.75.
- Converting a fraction to a decimal is simply carrying out the division of the numerator of the fraction by its denominator.
- There are two possible situations when carrying out a long division of whole numbers:
- We get at some point a remainder of zero, so the result of this division is a terminating decimal. For instance, .
- We get at some point a remainder that we have already had, so the steps between the first time we got this remainder and just before we got this remainder again will be repeated forever; the result of the division is a repeating decimal. For instance, .