Decimal Games for 5th Graders

Decimal definition:

Decimal is a point or a dot used to separate a whole number part from the fractional part of a number. Decimal is often read as “point”. To understand the decimal definition, it becomes imperative to learn about a whole and a fractional part. Introduce the child to the concepts of decimals using the below decimal games. These educational games are funbrain games that make the child learn math concepts with the help of everyday math.

Pizza Fractions Game:

• Print Worksheets with a picture of a Pizza and some grids of 10 squares.
• Tell kids this is One Pizza which is one whole of Pizza
• Have the student use a Sketch to distribute the pizza among his two friends.
• Introduce the concept of half of a whole.

Half = 1 whole pizza divided into 2 equal parts

= 1 ÷ 2 also written as

This  is a fractional number because it does not represent the whole but only represents a fragment or a part of the whole. So, a whole is complete and a fraction is a part of that complete entity.

• Have the kid shade one square in the grid in the worksheet.
• Ask the kid how many are shaded and how many are in total.
• Explain that the grid is considered as one whole and it is divided into 10 equal parts. The shaded region is 1 part out of the whole 10 parts. So, this is represented as  and called as one-tenth. Conversely, 10 parts of these one-tenths will make a whole.

Both the above activities will make the kid understand decimals from two perspectives. The Pizza activity explains the concept of the whole as 1 and the grid activity explains the concept that whole can be 10 also. As the kid understood the difference between a part and a whole, introduce decimals as a form of representation to write fractional parts of a whole.

What is a Decimal:

A whole pizza and a slice of one-tenth of a pizza are written as 1.1 pizzas. This form of writing whole and fractional part separated by a point in between is decimal form. When there is only one whole pizza and no fractional part along with it, it is expressed as 1.0 pizza. Here 1 on the left of the point represents the whole pizza and 0 on the right to the point represents no extra slices of the pizza. 

Decimal is a form of writing whole and fractional part together with a dot or point in between. The point is placed at the bottom only. The point when placed in the center becomes notation for multiplication of 1 and 2. It is important to stress on the placement of the point in decimal numbers. This activity helps the child to understand the concept of what is a decimal. Have the student understand that how these numbers are represented on the number line and proceed to the next worksheet of Decimal Number Line.

Decimal Number Line Worksheet:

• Print Worksheet with number lines as given above.
• In the first number line, it is observed that the line is divided into 10 equal parts.
• In the second number line, it is observed that 1 Whole from the previous number line is further subdivided into 10 equal parts. It is shown in an expanded form. As 10 parts are divided from 1 whole, each sub part is  called as one-tenth written in decimal form as 0.1
• In the third number line, it is observed that the one-tenth is further subdivided into 10 equal parts. This means the original 1 part is divided into hundred equal parts which become one-hundredth written in decimal form as 0.01
• In the fourth number line, it is observed that the one-hundredth is further subdivided into 10 equal parts. This means the original 1 part is divided into thousand equal parts which become one-thousandth written in decimal form as 0.001

In this worksheet, we notice that by subdividing each part into much more demarcations, we are defining a precise and refined location on the number line. Therefore, decimals help in bringing out the refinement in the whole numbers by bringing as much precision as possible through the fractional part present right side of the point.

Example: A trouser of waist length 21 inches is too tight for James and another trouser of 22 inches is too loose. What could be the problem? James has a waist length somewhere in between 21 inches and 22 inches. Decimals come to rescue here to find out the perfect trouser that fits James. The distance between 21 inches and 22 inches is one inch.

After measuring, it is observed that the waist length of James is 21.346. What do the digits 346 to the right of the decimal point signify? It is the fractional part of the decimal point, but does the order 3,4 and 6 matter after the decimal point? In Whole numbers, what does 21 signify? Have the child remember the place value concept of tens and ones. Similarly, in place value decimals, the places are tenths, hundredths, thousandths and so on. It is observed in the previous number line activity how tenths are subdivided and then comes hundredths and then for further distinction thousandths are marked.

Place Value Table:

Give the below decimal place value worksheets with empty rows of place value with decimal for the decimal system from thousands place to thousandths place.

Give decimal numbers to fill in the empty rows. Explain the place values of decimals and the significance of the places using the number line worksheet. The expanded form of a decimal number 6341.749 is as follows:

6345.749 = 6 × 1000 + 3 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 5 × 1 + 7 ×  + 4 ×  + 9 ×

The place value of decimals is of base ten. As noticed in the number line, base ten implies that a whole is divided into equal parts of 10 or multiples of 10.

Example: How to express  in decimals.

 = 0.273

How would a fractional part of denominator other than ten or multiples of 10 be expressed in decimal form? As it is learned that  is expressed as 0.1, how is  concerted in decimal form? This can be done by division only. When 13 is divided by 2, the quotient is 6 and the remainder is 1. Thus the number becomes 6. This is the key to decimals as 6 is the whole number and  is the fractional part.

Decimals make mathematical operations simpler between two fractional parts. For example: Adding 2  and 3 is same as adding 2.1 and 3.06 which is 5.16 by adding digits of the same place values as a normal addition.

What is 3 as a decimal? As 3 is a whole number and it doesn’t have a fractional part, it can be simply expressed as 3.0 or 3.00 or 3.000. One can put as many zeroes as one wishes to the extreme right after the decimal. This logic is the foundation for decimal conversion.

Conversion of 13/2 in decimal system:

Whole number 13 is expressed as 13.0 and the division is continued

Convert 8/10 as a decimal number using division as decimal converter.

More Conversion problems:

What is 1/5 as a decimal?

1/5 = 2/10 (By multiplying 2 on both numerator and denominator to make the denominator 10) = 0.2

What is 2/5 as a decimal?

2/5 = 4/10 = 0.4

What is 3/5 as a decimal?

3/5 = 6/10 = 0.6

Similarly, what is 4/5 as a decimal may be solved by multiplying both numerator and denominator by 2 to make the denominator 10. Therefore 4/5 = 8/10 = 0.8

What is 3/10 as a decimal?

3/10 = 0.3

Similarly, what is 3/5 as a decimal? It is 6/10 = 0.6

5 as a decimal can be written as 5.0

Express one-third as a decimal

1/3 is a non-terminating decimal. It is 0.333 with 3 repeating. Such decimals with a repeating pattern of digits are called recurring decimals or repeating decimals. 1/3 is expressed as 0.333 when rounded up to the thousandth place of the decimal system. Alternately, recurring decimals are expressed with a bar on the top of the repeating digit after the decimal point. Therefore, the solution to the question what is one-third as a decimal is answered as 0.

10 as a decimal is 10.00 when expressed in the decimal system up to hundredth’s place.

4 as a decimal is 4.000 when expressed in the decimal system up to thousandth’s place.

3 as a decimal is 3.0 when expressed in decimals up to tenths place.

6 as a decimal is 6.0 when expressed in decimals up to tenths place.

5/4 as a decimal. As 4 can be expressed in terms of a nearest multiple of 10 which is 100 by multiplying with 25, we perform multiplication with 25 on numerator and denominator. This will make 5/4 = 125/100 = 1.25

5/3 as a decimal = 1.

4/6 as a decimal = 2/3 = 0.

What is 3/7 as a decimal?

When solved using division, 3/7 doesn’t give a zero remainder. Such decimals are called non-terminating decimals. 3 has appeared as the remainder again while dividing. The quotient will repeat a pattern of 428571 again. Hence, it may be rounded off to thousandth place as 0.429 or expressed as 0. 

Similarly, 6/7 as a decimal is 0.