OVERVIEW

On this page you will learn about decimals.

First, read the text and examples.
Then, listen to audio of the text.

READ & LISTEN

Dewey decimal numbers on videos

Read:

Most items in a library have a call number. The call number has numbers and letters. Some call numbers use a decimal point. A decimal point is a period in the middle of numbers. When we say a number with a decimal point, we say 'point' for the period.

Example:

122.365
323.156
979.1
850.6
550.1638
326.1569

Listen:

Screen at the gas pump showing gallons and price

Image by KimManleyOrt, CC BY NC ND 2.0

Read:

We also use decimal points for amounts. The most common place we use decimal points is with money. We put a decimal point between dollars and cents. We say 'and' for the decimal point. If is it only cents, just say the number and cents.

Example:

$12.45
$169.73
$.75

Another amount is gallons when we buy gasoline. We usually buy gallons or parts of gallons. Here we say 'point' for the decimal point. For example, I buy 8.5 gallons of gasoline for my car.

We also use decimal points to talk about distance. For example, the distance from Seattle to Spokane is 278.9 miles.