- A decimal point or decimal is a symbol expressed by a “.“
- A number that contains a decimal point is called a decimal number
- Example: 34.57 is a decimal number because it contains a decimal point
- A decimal separates a number into two parts
- Collectively, the digits to the right of the decimal is called the decimal part of the decimal number
- The value of the decimal part of a decimal number is less than 1, or a fraction of 1
- Example: 75 cents (.75) is less than 1 dollar (1.00)
- Like each digit to the left of the decimal, each digit to the right of the decimal has a place value
- A whole number can be expressed as a decimal number with placeholder 0s representing the decimal part
- Example: 25 = 25.00
- Application: Expressing a number in Scientific Notation