5th grade · Math · Unit 5 of 14
Decimals
Tenths, hundredths and thousandths
What your child practices
Reading, writing, comparing and rounding decimals to thousandths, linking decimals to fractions out of 10, 100 and 1000, and adding and subtracting decimals in real situations.
Alaska content standards learning standard: 5.NBT.3; 5.NBT.7 · reading, writing and comparing decimals to thousandths and computing with decimals
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Places after the point are tenths, hundredths, thousandths.
- To add or subtract, line up the decimal points.
- Fill empty places with zeros so the numbers match.
Example: 5.5 + 5.25 = ? Write 5.5 as 5.50. 5.50 + 5.25 = 10.75. Answer: 10.75
Decimals in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 5 of 14 in 5th grade Math, after Equivalent Fractions and before Patterns & Equations.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
In 6.775, what is the value of the digit 5?
- 5 ones (5)
- 5 hundredths (0.05)
- 5 thousandths (0.005)
- 5 tenths (0.5)
5 thousandths (0.005)
Hint: After the decimal point, the places are tenths, then hundredths, then thousandths.
Question 2
Put these decimals in order from least to greatest.
- 0.56
- 0.65
- 0.506
- 0.5
0.5 → 0.506 → 0.56 → 0.65
Hint: Compare place by place: tenths first, then hundredths, then thousandths. Writing zeros on the end (0.5 = 0.500) can help.
Question 3
Write this as a decimal: five and seven hundred twelve thousandths.
answer box
5.712
Hint: The word “and” marks the decimal point. The last word tells you the last place: tenths = 1 digit after the point, hundredths = 2, thousandths = 3. Use zeros to hold empty places.
Question 4
Write 404/1000 as a decimal.
404/1000 = ?
answer box
0.404
Hint: The denominator tells you the last place: 10 → tenths, 100 → hundredths, 1000 → thousandths. Use zeros to fill any empty places.
Question 5
Maya's recipe uses 7.3 kg of flour and 5.66 kg of sugar. What is the total mass?
7.3 + 5.66 = ?
answer boxkg
12.96 kg
Hint: Line up the decimal points. Write zeros so both numbers have the same number of decimal places, then add as with whole numbers.
Question 6
What decimal belongs in the box on the number line?
answer box
7.26
Hint: The line goes from 7.2 to 7.3 in 10 equal jumps, so each jump is 0.01. Count the jumps to the box.