The Goldilocks Method to Converting Fractions to Decimals

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The Goldilocks Method to Converting Fractions to
Decimals
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Too Easy
When a fraction has a denominator of ten, one
hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand, you can
simply pronounce the fraction to hear the decimal.
47
5

0.047
0.5

1,000
10
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Just Right
When the fraction has what I call a friendly
denominator, we say the amount of work needed to
convert the fraction to a decimal is just
right. Friendly denominators are those which
are factors of 10, 100 or 1,000.
Examples of friendly denominators are 2,5, 20,
25, and 50
7
35
X 5

20
X 5
100
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Too Hard
When the denominator is not friendly, long
division is necessary to convert the fraction
into a decimal.
At this point, most answers will get rounded to
the nearest hundredth..so the answer would be
0.54
.538
7
7.000
13
13
65
50
39
110
104
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A few more things to remember

• Bar notation is used to indicate a repeating
  decimal. Ex. 0.33333 0.3
• Dont forget to include the whole number when
  converting a mixed number

1
3
5
3
3.625
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