CHARTS & TABLES Decimals – Degrees of a Term
CHARTS & TABLES Decimals – Degrees of a Term
Decimals
The word decimalsusually refers to decimal fractionsin the base 10 number system.
The dot, or decimal point, is used to show both the integer and the fraction values.
The numbers to the left of the dot are the integers, and the numbers to the right of the
dot are the fractions. For example, 0.4, 3.6, 1.85, 97.029, and so on.Each place, or order, to the right of the decimal point has a name to identify the value
of the fraction. For example, 0.4 is read as four tenths. 0.62 is read as sixty-two
hundredths. 0.759 is read as seven hundred fifty-nine thousandths. 3.6 is read as three
and six tenths. 7.759 is read as seven and seven hundred fifty-nine thousandths.Here are the values for the first six places in decimal fractions:
.1 Tenths (one decimal place)
.01 Hundredths (two decimal places)
.001 Thousandths (three decimal places)
.0001 Ten-thousandths (four decimal places)
.00001 Hundred-thousandths (five decimal places)
.000001 Millionths (six decimal places)Degrees of a Term
In expressions and equations, numbers and variables have degrees of terms, based on
the power to which a number or variable is raised. A number by itself is said to have
a zero degree; a variable raised to the second power (squared) is said to be a second-
degree term. Here are some degrees of terms:
3 zero degree
x first degree
x^2 second degree
x^3 third degree
x^4 fourth degree
x^5 fifth degree