A Peek Beyond the Point
A tenth part
Learn what a tenth is, and how to use tenths to measure more exactly.
A pencil is 3 and 4/10 units long: 3 whole units and four one-tenths, that is (3 × 1) + (4 × 1/10).
Ten one-tenths make one whole: 10 × 1/10 = 1. So 3 whole units are 30 tenths, and 3 and 4/10 is 34 tenths, or 34/10. Check: 34/10 = 10/10 + 10/10 + 10/10 + 4/10 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 4/10.
So every length in tenths can be written two ways. A USB cable is 4 and 8/10 units, which is the same as 48/10 units. (With tenths, you can just write the whole number and the tenths digit side by side: 4 and 8/10 = 48/10.)
Read carefully, because these look alike but are not all the same:
| Written | Read | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 4/10 | four-tenths | less than 1 |
| 4 and 1/10 | four and one-tenth | a little more than 4 |
| 41/10 | forty-one tenths | the same as 4 and 1/10 |
| 41 and 1/10 | forty-one and one-tenth | a little more than 41 |
So from smallest to largest: 4/10, then 4 and 1/10 (= 41/10), then 41 and 1/10. When the bottoms are all 10, just compare the tops. Try ordering 9/10, 1 and 7/10, 130/10, 13 and 1/10, 10 and 5/10, 7 and 6/10, 6 and 7/10, 4/10.
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