214 Chapter 4 Fractions, decimals, percentages and financial mathematics

4 Which of the following is the mixed numeral equivalent of 5.75?

75 25 3 15 75
A 5 B 5 C 5 D 5 E 5
10 50 4 20 1000
Example 8 5 Convert the following decimals to fractions in their simplest form.
a 0.31 b 0.537 c 0.815 d 0.96
e 5.35 f 8.22 g 26.8 h 8.512

6 Complete the following statements to convert the fractions to decimals.

= 0. □
3 6
a =
5 □
□
= 0.5 □
11
b =
20 100

Example 9 7 Convert the following fractions to decimals.

17 301 405 76
a b c d
100 1000 100 10
3 7 5 7
e f g h
25 20 2 4
8 Using a calculator, convert the following decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals.
a 0.052 b 6.125 c 317.06 d 0.424
11 3 17 29
e f g h
40 8 25 125
9 Convert the following mixed numerals to decimals and then place them in ascending order.
Consider whether to use a calculator or not. Possibly a combination of mental arithmetic and some
simple calculator keystrokes is the most efficient strategy.
2 1 3 7 9 3
2 , 2 , 2 , 2 , 2 , 2
5 4 8 40 50 10

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND REASONING 10, 11, 13 11–14 12–14

10 The distances from Nam’s locker to his six different

classrooms are listed below.
• locker to room B5 (0.186 km)
• locker to gym (0.316 km)
• locker to room A1 (0.119 km)
• locker to room C07 (0.198 km)
• locker to room P9 (0.254 km)
• locker to BW Theatre (0.257 km)

List Nam’s six classrooms in order of distance of his locker

from the closest classroom to the one furthest away.

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 4C Decimal place value and fraction/decimal conversions 215

3
11 The prime minister’s approval rating is 0.35, and the opposition leader’s approval rating is .
8
Which leader is ahead in the popularity polls and by how much?

12 Justin dug six different holes for planting six different

types of fruit bushes and trees. He measured the
dimensions of the holes and found them to be:
A depth 1.31 m, width 0.47 m
B depth 1.15 m, width 0.39 m
C depth 0.85 m, width 0.51 m
D depth 0.79 m, width 0.48 m
E depth 1.08 m, width 0.405 m
F depth 1.13 m, width 0.4 m
a List the holes in increasing order of depth.
b List the holes in decreasing order of width.

13 a Write a decimal that lies midway between 2.65

and 2.66.
b Write a fraction that lies midway between 0.89
and 0.90.
c Write a decimal that lies midway between 4.6153
and 4.6152.
d Write a fraction that lies midway between 2.555 and
2.554.

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216 Chapter 4 Fractions, decimals, percentages and financial mathematics

14 Complete the following magic square using a mixture of fractions and decimals.

4
2.6 1
5

6
2

4.2

ENRICHMENT – – 15

Exchange rates

15 The table below shows a set of exchange rates between the US dollar (US$), the Great Britain
pound (£), the Canadian dollar (C$), the euro (€ ) and the Australian dollar (A$).

US$ £ C$ € A$
US$ 1 1.58 781 0.914 085 1.46 499 0.866 558
£ 0.629 795 1 0.575 686 0.922 649 0.545 754
C$ 1.09 399 1.73 705 1 1.60 269 0.948 006
€ 0.682 594 1.08 383 0.623 949 1 0.591 507
A$ 1.15 399 1.83 232 1.05 484 1.69 059 1

The following two examples are provided to help you to interpret the table.
• A$1 will buy US$0.866 558.
• You will need A$1.15 399 to buy US$1.

Study the table and answer the following questions.

a How many euros will A$100 buy?
b How many A$ would buy £100?
c Which country has the most similar currency rate to Australia?
d Would you prefer to have £35 or € 35?
e C$1 has the same value as how many US cents?
f If the cost of living was the same in each country in terms of each country’s own currency, list
the five money denominations in descending order of value for money.
g A particular new car costs £30 000 in Great Britain
and $70 000 in Australia. If it costs A$4500 to freight
a car from Great Britain to Australia, which car is
cheaper to buy? Justify your answer by using the
exchange rates in the table.
h Research the current exchange rates and see how they compare to those listed in the table.

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 4D Computation with decimals 217

4D Computation with decimals REVISION

This section reviews the different techniques involved in adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing
decimals.

Reminder:
3.6 ÷ 2 = 1.8

dividend divisor quotient

Let’s start: Match the phrases

There are eight different sentence beginnings and eight different sentence endings below. Your task is to
match each sentence beginning with its correct ending. When you have done this, write the eight correct
sentences in your workbook.

Sentence beginnings Sentence endings

When adding or subtracting decimals the decimal point appears to move two places to the right.

When multiplying decimals the decimal point in the quotient goes directly above the
decimal point in the dividend.

When multiplying decimals by 100 make sure you line up the decimal points.

When dividing decimals by decimals the number of decimal places in the question must equal
the number of decimal places in the answer.

When multiplying decimals the decimal point appears to move two places to the left.

When dividing by 100 start by ignoring the decimal points.

When dividing decimals by a whole number we start by changing the question so that the divisor is a
whole number.

■ Adding and subtracting decimals Key ideas

• Ensure digits are correctly aligned in similar place value columns.
• Ensure the decimal points are lined up directly under one another.

+ 5.231 ✓ 5.231 ×
37.560 37.56
37.56 + 5.231

■ Multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10

• When multiplying, the decimal point appears to move to the right the same number of
places as there are zeros in the multiplier.
13.753 × 100 = 1375.3 13.753
Multiply by 10 twice.
• When dividing, the decimal point appears to move to the left the same number of places as
there are zeros in the divisor.
586.92 ÷ 10 = 58.692 586.92
6
Divide by 10 once.

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218 Chapter 4 Fractions, decimals, percentages and financial mathematics

■ Multiplying decimals
Key ideas

• Initially ignore the decimal points and carry out routine multiplication.
• The decimal place is correctly positioned in the answer according to the following rule:
‘The number of decimal places in the answer must equal the total number of decimal places
in the question.’
5.73 × 8.6 573 5.7 3 × 8.6 = 49.2 7 8
× 86
49278 (3 decimal places in question, 3 decimal places in answer)

■ Dividing decimals

The decimal point in the quotient goes directly above the decimal point in the dividend.

18.78 Quotient (answer)

56.34 ÷ 3
Divisor 3⟌56.34 Dividend

We avoid dividing decimals by other decimals. Instead we change the divisor into a whole
number. Of course, whatever change we make to the divisor we must also make to the dividend,
so it is equivalent to multiplying by 1 and the value of the question is not changed.

We avoid 27.354 ÷ 0.02

Preferring to do 2735.4 ÷ 2 27.3544 ÷ 0.02

Example 10 Adding and subtracting decimals

Calculate:
a 23.07 + 103.659 + 9.9
b 9.7 − 2.86

S O L U T IO N EXPL AN AT IO N
23.070 Make sure all decimal points and places are
103.659 correctly aligned directly under one another. Fill in
a
+ 9.900 missing decimal places with zeros.
136.629
Carry out the addition of each column, working
from right to left.
b 9.
8 16
7 10 Align decimal points directly under one another
− 2. 8 6 and fill in missing decimal places with zeros.
6. 8 4 Carry out subtraction following the same
procedure as for subtraction of whole numbers.

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 4D Computation with decimals 219

Example 11 Multiplying and dividing by powers of 10

Calculate:
a 9.753 ÷ 100
b 27.58 × 10 000

S O L U T IO N EXPL A NAT IO N
a 9.753 ÷ 100 = 0.09 753 Dividing by 100, therefore decimal point appears
to move two places to the left. Additional zeros
are inserted as necessary.
.09.753
b 27.58 × 10 000 = 275 800 Multiplying by 10 000, therefore decimal
point appears to move four places to the right.
Additional zeros are inserted as necessary.
27.5800.

Example 12 Multiplying decimals

Calculate:
a 2.57 × 3
b 4.13 × 9.6

S O L U T IO N EXPL A NAT I O N
a 2 57
1 2 Perform multiplication ignoring decimal point.
× 3 There are two decimal places in the question, so two
7 71 decimal places in the answer.

2.57 × 3 = 7.71 Estimation is less than 10 (≈ 3 × 3 = 9) .

b 413 Ignore both decimal points.
× 96 Perform routine multiplication.
2478 There is a total of three decimal places in the question,
37170
39648 so there must be three decimal places in the answer.

4.13 × 9.6 = 39.648 Estimation is about 40 (≈ 4 × 10 = 40).

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220 Chapter 4 Fractions, decimals, percentages and financial mathematics

Example 13 Dividing decimals

Calculate:
a 35.756 ÷ 4 b 64.137 ÷ 0.03

S O L U T IO N EXPL A NAT I O N
a 8.939 Carry out division, remembering that the decimal point
8. 9 3 9 in the answer is placed directly above the decimal point
4⟌35.371536 in the dividend.
b 64.137 ÷ 0.03 Instead of dividing by 0.03, multiply both the divisor
= 6413.7 ÷ 3 = 2137.9 and the dividend by 100.
2 1 3 7. 9 Move each decimal point two places to the right.
3⟌641123.27 Carry out the division question 6413.7 ÷ 3.

Exercise 4D REVISION
UNDERSTANDING AND FLUENCY 1, 2–4(½), 5, 6(½), 7, 8(½), 9, 10–11(½) 2–4(½), 5, 6(½), 7, 8(½), 9, 10–11(½) 5, 6(½), 7, 8(½), 9, 10–12(½)

1 Which of the following is correctly set up for the following addition?

5.386 + 53.86 + 538.6
A 5.386 B 5.386 C 5.386 D 538 + 53 + 5
53.86 53.860 53.86 + 0.386 + 0.86 + 0.6
+ 538.6 + 538.600 + 538.6
Example 10 2 Calculate:
a 23.57 + 39.14 b 64.28 + 213.71 c 5.623 + 18.34 d 92.3 + 1.872
e 38.52 − 24.11 f 76.74 − 53.62 g 123.8 − 39.21 h 14.57 − 9.8

3 Calculate:
a 13.546 + 35.2 + 9.27 + 121.7 b 45.983 + 3.41 + 0.032 + 0.8942
c 923.8 + 92.38 + 9.238 + 0.238 d 4.572 + 0.0329 + 2.0035 + 11.7003

4 Calculate:
a 3.456 + 12.723 − 4.59 b 7.213 − 5.46 + 8.031
c 26.451 + 8.364 − 14.987 d 12.7 − 3.45 − 4.67

5 The correct answer to the problem 2.731 ÷ 1000 is:

A 2731 B 27.31 C 2.731 D 0.02731 E 0.002731
Example 11 6 Calculate:
a 36.5173 × 100 b 0.08155 × 1000 c 7.5 ÷ 10 d 3.812 ÷ 100
e 634.8 × 10 000 f 1.0615 ÷ 1000 g 0.003 × 10 000 h 0.452 ÷ 1000
7 If 56 × 37 = 2072, the correct answer to the problem 5.6 × 3.7 is:
A 207.2 B 2072 C 20.72 D 2.072 E 0.2072
Example 12 8 Calculate:
a 12.45 × 8 b 4.135 × 3 c 26.2 × 4.1 d 5.71 × 0.32
e 0.0023 × 8.1 f 300.4 × 2.2 g 7.123 × 12.5 h 81.4 × 3.59

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 4D Computation with decimals 221

9 Which of the following divisions would provide the same answer as the division question
62.5314 ÷ 0.03?
A 625.314 ÷ 3 B 6253.14 ÷ 3 C 0.625314 ÷ 3 D 625 314 ÷ 3
Example 13a 10 Calculate:
a 24.54 ÷ 2 b 17.64 ÷ 3 c 0.0485 ÷ 5 d 347.55 ÷ 7
e 133.44 ÷ 12 f 4912.6 ÷ 11 g 2.58124 ÷ 8 h 17.31 ÷ 5
Example 13b 11 Calculate:
a 6.114 ÷ 0.03 b 0.152 ÷ 0.4 c 4023 ÷ 0.002 d 5.815 ÷ 0.5
e 0.02345 ÷ 0.07 f 16.428 ÷ 1.2 g 0.5045 ÷ 0.8 h 541.31 ÷ 0.4
12 Calculate:
a 13.7 + 2.59 b 35.23 − 19.71 c 15.4 × 4.3 d 9.815 ÷ 5
e 13.72 × 0.97 f 6.7 − 3.083 g 0.582 ÷ 0.006 h 7.9023 + 34.81

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND REASONING 13, 14, 17 14, 15, 17, 18 14–19

13 The heights of Mrs Buchanan’s five grandchildren are 1.34 m, 1.92 m, 0.7 m, 1.5 m, and 1.66 m.
What is the combined height of Mrs Buchanan’s grandchildren?

14 If the rental skis at Mt Buller were lined up end to end, they would reach from the summit of
Mt Buller all the way down to the entry gate at Mirimbah. The average length of a downhill ski is 1.5 m
and the distance from the Mt Buller summit to Mirimbah is 18.3 km. How many rental skis are there?

15 Design your own question similar to question 14 and ask a classmate to solve it.
For example, you might use the number of cars placed bumper to bumper from Sydney to Brisbane.
Carry out some research so that your decimal lengths are approximately accurate.

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222 Chapter 4 Fractions, decimals, percentages and financial mathematics

16 Joliet is a keen walker. She has a pedometer that shows she has walked 1 428 350 paces so far this
year. Her average pace length is 0.84 metres. How many kilometres has Joliet walked so far this
year? (Give your answer correct to the nearest kilometre.)

17 A steel pipe of length 7.234 m must be divided into four equal lengths. The saw blade is 2 mm
thick. How long will each of the four lengths be?

18 If a = 0.12, b = 2.3 and c = 3.42, find:

a a+b+c b c − (a + b) c a×b×c d c÷a−b

19 If a = 0.1, b = 2.1 and c = 3.1, without evaluating, which of the following alternatives would
provide the biggest answer?
A a+b+c B a×b×c C b÷a+c D c÷a×b

ENRICHMENT – – 20

Target practice

20 In each of the following problems, you must come up with a starting decimal number(s) that will
provide an answer within the target range provided when the nominated operation is performed.

For example: Find a decimal number that when multiplied by 53.24 will give an answer between
2.05 and 2.1.

You might like to use trial and error, or you might like to work out the question backwards.

Confirm these results on your calculator:

0.03 × 53.24 = 1.5972 (answer outside target range—too small)

0.04 × 53.24 = 2.1296 (answer outside target range—too large)

0.039 × 53.24 = 2.07636 (answer within target range of 2.05 to 2.1)

Therefore, a possible answer is 0.039.

Try the following target problems. (Aim to use as few decimal places as possible.)

Question Starting number Operation (instruction) Target range

1 0.039 × 53.24 2.05–2.1
2 × 0.034 100–101
3 ÷ 1.2374 75.7–75.8
4 × by itself (square) 0.32–0.33
5 ÷ (−5.004) 9.9–9.99

Try the following target problems. (Each starting number must have at least two decimal places.)
Question Two starting numbers Operation (instruction) Target range
6 0.05, 3.12 × 0.1–0.2
7 ÷ 4.1–4.2
8 × 99.95–100.05
9 + 0.001–0.002
10 – 45.27
You might like to make up some of your own target problems.
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