Essential Decimal Skills: Finding the Greater Number

The number of digits doesn't determine size! Think of it like money: 50 cents (0.5) is more than 49 cents (0.49), even though 49 has more digits. Place value matters, not digit count.

Add zeros to make the same number of decimal places: 0.5 becomes 0.50. Now compare: 50 hundredths vs 49 hundredths. It's clear that 50 > 49!

Line them up by decimal points and add zeros if needed:

• 0.50
• 0.49

Compare digit by digit from left to right. The first different digit tells you which is larger!

Yes! Convert both to fractions with the same denominator: $0.5 = \frac{50}{100}$ and $0.49 = \frac{49}{100}$. Since 50 > 49, we know 0.5 > 0.49.

Yes, that's incorrect! The explanation contains an error. $\frac{49}{100} < \frac{50}{100}$, so 0.49 < 0.5. Always trust your place value comparison and double-check with the decimal point method.