Arithmetic Grade Six

Lesson Eighty-seven: Converting Fractions to Decimals

As we saw in the last lesson, adding to fractions is sometimes easier if you convert them to decimals first. Consider the following examples: 


       2/25 + 1/20  =  .08 + .05  = .13

       3/20 + 1/4   =  .15 + .25  = .40
If you really wanted to you could find equivalent fractions and then convert your fraction answer to a decimal like this: 

       2/25 + 1/20  =  8/100  +  5/100  =  13/100  = .13

       3/20 + 1/4   =  15/100  +  25/100  =  40/100  =  .40
This requires an extra step, but it still gets you the same answer.

Besides converting to equivalent fractions (for instance, 3/4 = 75/100 = .75), we can also perform straight division like this:

Now you get to try a few for yourself.

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