Compare Decimals: Is 1.2300 Equal to 1.0230?

Trailing zeros after the decimal point don't change a number's value, but these aren't trailing zeros! In $1.2300$ vs $1.0230$, the digits are in different positions, creating completely different values.

Start from the leftmost digit after the decimal point and work right. Compare tenths, then hundredths, then thousandths. The first place where digits differ tells you which decimal is larger.

No! Only remove trailing zeros at the very end. You cannot remove zeros that appear between other digits or before the last non-zero digit - they show important place value information.

Line up the decimal points vertically:

• 1.2300
• 1.0230

Converting to fractions shows the true values: $1.2300 = 1\frac{23}{100}$ and $1.0230 = 1\frac{23}{1000}$. Since $\frac{23}{100} > \frac{23}{1000}$, the decimals are clearly not equal.