## What you need to know

Things to remember:

• The first decimal place is called “tenths”.
• The second decimal place is called “hundredths”.
• The third decimal place is called “thousandths”.

We are going to use our knowledge of fractions to help us find the names of the place values. We also need to remember that a fraction is just another way of writing a division question.

Hint: Remember, when we divide by 10, 100, or 1000, we move the numbers right 1 time for each zero there is.

$$\frac{1}{10}=1\div10=0.1$$

Remember, fractions with 10 on the bottom are called “tenths”, so we call this decimal place “tenths” as well.

$$\frac{1}{100}=1\div100=0.01$$

Remember, fractions with 100 on the bottom are called “hundredths”, so we call this decimal place “hundredths” as well.

$$\frac{1}{1000}=1\div1000=0.001$$

Remember, fractions with 1000 on the bottom are called “thousandths”, so we call this decimal place “thousandths” as well.

We can now use this to help us find the value of digits in a decimal number.

What is the value of the 6 in 2.365?

Well, we know that the 6 is in the “hundredths” place, so must represent 6 hundredths, or $6\times0.01=0.06$.

What is the value of the 8 in 56.938?

Well, we know that the 8 is in the “thousandths” place, so must represent 8 thousandths, or $8\times0.001=0.008$.

## Example Questions

#### Question 1: What is the value of the 5 in 2.544?

Well, we know that the 5 is in the “tenths” place, so must represent 5 tenths, or $5\times0.1=0.5$.
Well, we know that the 3 is in the “hundredths” place, so must represent 3 hundredths, or $3\times0.01=0.03$.