Video Transcript
Convert one-third to a decimal.
The line in a fraction means divide. Therefore, one-third is the same as one divided by three. One way of dividing one by three is using the bus stop method. And, one is the same as 1.0. We can actually put any number of zeros after the decimal point. In this case, we’ll put four of them. It is important when dividing decimals by whole numbers that we keep the decimal point in the answer in the same place as it was in the question.
Three doesn’t divide into one. Therefore, we need to carry the one to the tenths column. 10 divided by three is equal to three remainder one. We need to carry the one to the hundredths column. Once again, we have 10 divided by three. This is equal to three in the answer column, and we carry the remainder of one. This would repeat indefinitely. Therefore, one divided by three is equal to 0.3333 and so on.
A number that has a repeating pattern like this is known as a recurring number. As the three is the only digit that is repeating, this is known a 0.3 recurring. This can be written with either a dot or a bar above the three. The fraction one-third converted to a decimal is 0.3 recurring.
