The idea, step by step
Places after the decimal point
A decimal extends our place-value system to parts smaller than one. The first digit after the point counts tenths. The second counts hundredths.
One tenth is ten hundredths. A hundred-grid shows this: a full row of ten small squares is one tenth of the whole grid.
Use a place-value chart
The decimal point separates whole-number units from fractional parts. In 0.62 there are six tenths and two hundredths.
A zero matters when a place is empty: 0.07 means seven hundredths, not seven tenths. Say the place name when reading the digit.
| Ones | Tenths | Hundredths |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 0 | 0 | 7 |
A common trap
Treating 0.07 as seven tenths.
Instead: The 7 is in the second place after the point, so it counts hundredths. Seven tenths is 0.7.
See the thinking
Rename tenths
How many hundredths are ?
- Each tenth contains ten hundredths.
- Four tenths contain forty hundredths.
- Both names describe the same amount.
Build an amount
Write six tenths and two hundredths as a decimal.
- Put 6 in the tenths column and 2 in the hundredths column.
- There are no whole units, so write 0 before the point.
Check your understanding
How many hundredths equal three tenths?
Show answer
30 hundredths.
Each tenth is ten hundredths; three groups of ten make thirty.
Your turn
6 questions · 8 marks · Work at your own pace.
Read the questions online
- Write three tenths as a decimal.1 mark
- How many hundredths make 0.5?1 mark
- Write seven hundredths as a decimal.1 mark
- State the value of the 2 in 0.62.1 mark
- Which is larger: four tenths or thirty-five hundredths? Explain.2 marks
- Write the decimal formed by three tenths and five hundredths.2 marks
Read the worked solutions
Equivalent correct methods earn the corresponding marks. Include units where asked.
- Write three tenths as a decimal.1 mark
Place 3 in the tenths column.
- How many hundredths make 0.5?1 mark
Five groups of ten hundredths make fifty.
50 hundredths. - Write seven hundredths as a decimal.1 mark
Use zero tenths and seven hundredths.
- State the value of the 2 in 0.62.1 mark
The 2 is in the hundredths column.
Two hundredths, or . - Which is larger: four tenths or thirty-five hundredths? Explain.2 marks
Four tenths equal forty hundredths; .
Four tenths. - Write the decimal formed by three tenths and five hundredths.2 marks
Three tenths are thirty hundredths; thirty-five hundredths is 0.35.
Curriculum reference & lesson scope
Australian Curriculum v9 and SA Curriculum Mathematics
Tenths/hundredths; representations; notation; fraction connections.
Official curriculum source ↗