ABSTRACT
Decimal fractions involve dividing the whole into ten equal-sized parts. Decimals allow the Base 10 system to be extended to include numbers that are between the whole numbers. A decimal point is used to separate the whole numbers from the fractional part of the number. The purpose of rounding is to make numbers easier to handle by reducing the number of decimal places while retaining the same approximate value. The procedure for subtracting decimals is also an extension of the procedure for subtracting whole numbers. Multiplying and dividing a decimal by a decimal is introduced in Year 7 of the Australian Curriculum. Fractions are numbers which can be written as the ratio of two whole numbers. For this reason, numbers which can be expressed as fractions are called rational numbers. Decimal numbers that cannot be written as fractions are known as irrational numbers.
