Understand the idea.
Places after the decimal point
The places after the decimal point count parts of one whole. The first place counts tenths; the second counts hundredths. Each step to the right makes a unit ten times smaller, continuing the place-value pattern used for whole numbers.
On a hundred-grid, the full grid is one whole. One row of ten squares is one tenth, and each little square is one hundredth. Therefore one tenth and ten hundredths describe the same shaded amount: .
Use a place-value chart
Use the decimal point to locate the ones, tenths and hundredths columns. In , the counts tenths and the counts hundredths. Six tenths already contain sixty hundredths, so the total is sixty-two hundredths.
Keep a zero for an empty place. In , the zero after the point says there are no tenths; the counts hundredths. Moving the into the tenths place would make the amount ten times as large.
| Ones | Tenths | Hundredths |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 0 | 0 | 7 |
See the method in action.
Rename tenths
How many hundredths are ?
Worked solution
- 1
Read the decimal as tenths.
The 4 is in the first place after the decimal point.
- 2
Count the hundredths in four tenths.
Each tenth contains ten hundredths.
- 3
Write the equivalent decimal name.
The same amount can be named forty hundredths, so 0.4 and 0.40 are equal.
40 hundredths, so .
Build an amount
Write six tenths and two hundredths as a decimal.
Worked solution
- 1
Record six tenths.
Six belongs in the tenths column immediately after the decimal point.
- 2
Record two hundredths.
Two belongs in the second column after the point, with no extra tenths.
- 3
Combine the two amounts.
Six tenths and two hundredths use separate place-value columns, with zero whole units.
Try it yourself.
Check your understanding
How many hundredths equal three tenths?
Show answer & reasoning
30 hundredths.
Three tenths equal hundredths. On a hundred-grid, three full rows contain thirty squares, so .
Keep practising
6 worksheet questions · 8 marks
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 ↗