Decimals: tenths and hundredths

What they’re learning

Your child is learning that decimals represent parts of a whole using the base-ten system. Tenths and hundredths connect naturally to money and to fraction models.

Explain it to my child

0.4 means four tenths. 0.04 means four hundredths. The zero matters because the digit’s position tells its value.

Try it together

Use a dollar as 1 whole. Dimes can represent tenths and pennies hundredths. Build amounts such as $0.47 and connect them to 0.47 and 47/100.

Practice

1. What is 7 tenths as a decimal?
2. What is 35 hundredths as a decimal?
3. Which is greater: 0.6 or 0.56?
4. Write 0.42 as hundredths.
5. What decimal represents $0.09?

Check understanding

• Can your child distinguish 0.5 from 0.05?
• Can they connect decimals to tenths/hundredths or money?